The definition, however, presents difficulties in interpretation and, consequently, application. UNHCR will issue guidelines in 2011 on the interpretation of Article 1(1). The development of these guidelines has been informed by an expert meeting that drew up a set of conclusions.8 These conclusions found that, considering the object and the purpose of the 1954 Convention is “to secur[e] for stateless people the widest possible enjoyment of their human rights and to regulat[e] their status”, the definition in Article 1(1) should be given an inclusive interpretation and that “some categories of persons hitherto regarded as de facto stateless are actually de jure stateless”.9 Furthermore, as there is no international treaty regime to regulate the treatment of de facto stateless persons and the interpretation of the term is subject to debate, although the UNHCR Prato Summary Conclusions found that the lack of ability to return to the country of nationality was the defining characteristic. In these circumstances, the researchers decided, as far as possible, to avoid the use of the terms de jure and de facto stateless. Instead, it was decided to include within the scope of the study persons who were, for the purposes of the research, termed to be “unreturnable”, that is to say they were people who were subject to UK immigration law, but could not return or be returned to any country including, if known, their country of nationality. This working definition was chosen to reflect the common characteristics that the group shared, in that they did not have the right to remain in the UK and that they were unable to gain admittance to their country of nationality or former habitual residence. In this way their situation was similar to the situation of many of the participants in the research who were stateless, although the two groups were treated as being distinct. This group falls within UNHCR’s mandate relating to stateless persons because if the situation of “unreturnable” persons is left unaddressed it may become impossible to document nationality in the future, thereby leading to statelessness.10 Further, as the analysis in Chapter 5 reveals, “unreturnable” persons are like many of the stateless participants interviewed left in limbo in the UK. This has significant consequences for the protection of their human rights. Indeed, the UK courts have held that this “unreturnable” characteristic is a relevant consideration in a series of cases concerning, for example, whether immigration detention was arbitrary or unlawful and whether destitution and homelessness or limitations on access to healthcare for non-nationals contravened human rights standards.11 The researchers were able to identify persons as stateless if the UK Border Agency, a Court or Tribunal had determined them to have such status. Additionally, individuals were considered stateless if they met the interpretation of Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention set out in the conclusions of two expert meetings on statelessness organised bv UNHCR in 2010–11.12 Finally, some persons who were identified as “unreturnable” were potentially stateless, although that conclusion could not yet be drawn. This was because enquiries of the States where they had a “relevant link” by birth, previous habitual residence or nationality of parents had either not yet taken place or had not been concluded. If those enquiries, in the future, revealed that none of the States in question was treating the individual as a national under the operation of its law, then he or she would be “stateless”. Conversely, if those enquiries revealed that the individual has a nationality, he or she would be able to return. 8 14 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Expert Meeting – The Concept of Stateless Persons under International Law (Summary Conclusions), May 2010, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/ refworld/docid/4ca1ae002.html (hereafter “UNHCR Prato Summary Conclusions”). 9 Ibid., Section II De facto Stateless Persons. 10 Ibid., para. 12. 11 For further discussion, see Chapters 4 and 5. 12 See UNHCR Prato Summary Conclusions and UNHCR, Expert Meeting - Statelessness Determination Procedures and the Status of Stateless Persons (Summary Conclusions), Dec. 2010, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4d9022762.html (hereafter “UNHCR Geneva Summary Conclusions”). Mapping statelessness