Id. at 101-102 (citations omitted). 16 Paragraph 6(A) (II) of UNHCR’s Statute, Article 1(A) (2) of the 1951 Convention and Article I.2 of the 1967 Protocol (incorporating by reference the relevant portions of Convention article 1(A)(2)) refer to stateless persons who meet the criteria of the refugee definition. UNHCR’s statelessness mandate also applies to stateless individuals who are internally displaced. 17 See, e.g., U.N. General Assembly Resolution A/ RES/50/152 at 2 (1995). 18 Id., at ¶ 14 (clarifying that UNHCR’s activities on behalf of stateless persons are part of the office’s statutory function of providing international protection); A/RES/61/137 ¶ 4 (urging UNHCR to continue its work “in regard to identifying stateless persons, preventing and reducing statelessness, and protecting stateless persons”); See generally, UNHCR’s Role in Supervising International Protection Standards in the Context of its Mandate, Keynote Speech delivered by Volker Türk at York University (Toronto, CA) May 2010, available at: <www.unhcr.org/4bf406a56. html>. Although UNHCR is not explicitly mentioned in either the 1954 Convention or the 1961 Convention, the U.N. General Assembly has specifically designated UNHCR as the appropriate body to examine the cases of persons who claim the benefit of the 1961 Convention and assist them in presenting their claim to the authorities under Article 11 of this treaty. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3274 (XXIX) (10 December 1974); A/RES/31/36 (30 Nov. 1976). Further, under UNHCR ExCom Conclusion 106, paragraph (x), the office is requested “to provide technical advice to States Parties on the implementation of the 1954 Convention so as to ensure consistent implementation of its provisions.” 19 See, e.g., U.N. General Assembly Resolutions A/ RES/51/75 (1997) ¶ 18; A/RES/55/74 (2001) ¶ 5; A/ RES/62/124 (2008) ¶ 5; A/RES/65/194 (2011) ¶ 5. 20 See, e.g., ExCom Conclusion No. 78, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons (1995) ¶ (a) (“Encourag[ing] UNHCR to continue its activities on behalf of stateless persons, as part of its statutory function of providing international protection and of seeking preventive action....”) (emphasis in original); ExCom Conclusion No. 106, Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons (2006) at 1 (“[r]eaffirming the respon- Solutions for the Stateless in the U.S. sibilities given to the High Commissioner by the United Nations General Assembly to contribute to the prevention and reduction of statelessness and to further the protection of stateless persons”) and at ¶ (a) (“[u]rg[ing] UNHCR, in cooperation with governments, other United Nations and international as well as relevant regional and non-governmental organizations, to strengthen its efforts in this domain by pursuing targeted activities to support the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and to further the protection of stateless persons.”); available at: <http://www.unhcr.org/41b041534.html> and <http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/453497302.html, respectively>. As of July 2012, the Executive Committee is composed of representatives from 87 countries, including the United States, and meets annually to review and approve the UNHCR’s programmes and budget; advise on international protection matters; and discuss a wide range of related issues with UNHCR and its intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. 21 U.N. General Assembly Resolution A/RES/61/137 ¶ 4 (2006). 22 UNHCR ExCom Conclusion No. 106, ¶ c. 23 Id., ¶ q. 24 Id., ¶¶ p and r. 25 Id., ¶ v. In conjunction with the 2011 50th Anniversary of the 1961 Convention, UNHCR placed statelessness issues at the centre of its advocacy work and continues to intensify its efforts in achieving greater State accession to the international statelessness instruments. For a map of States Parties to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, including those that have acceded since the October 2010 UNHCR launch of its 2011 Commemorative Campaign, see <http://www. unhcr.org/4ff2e44a9.html>. 26 1951 Convention Art. 1 (1). See pages 17-18 for a discussion of this definition. 27 See e.g., UNHCR, Action to Address Statelessness: A Strategy Note, March 2010, p.14, available at: <http:// www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b9e0c3d2.html>. See generally, LAURA VAN WAAS, NATIONALITY MATTERS: STATELESSNESS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW 12 (INTERSENTIA 2008) for an excellent treatment of statelessness globally. 28 For a fuller discussion of the disadvantages of statelessness, see, e.g., The United Nations and Statelessness, at 5-6. 39