Stateless and Protection of Stateless Persons expressed concern that “statelessness, including the inability to establish one’s nationality, may result in displacement”.110 ExCom Conclusion No. 90 on International Protection subsequently expressed concern in 2001 that many victims of trafficking “are rendered effectively stateless due to an inability to establish their identity and nationality status”.111 In March 2006, UNHCR revised its annual statistical reporting instructions, as a result of which UNHCR country operations were required to report statistics on “stateless persons”, defined as persons or categories of persons (a) who are not considered nationals by any country under the operation of their laws (de jure stateless persons) as per Article 1 of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, (b) de facto stateless persons as well as (c) persons who are unable to establish their nationality. The statistical reporting instructions thus refer to three distinct categories of statelessness: de jure statelessness, de facto statelessness and the inability to establish one’s nationality. However, a different approach was subsequently taken in October 2006 in ExCom Conclusion No. 106 of 2006 on the Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons, which refers to “stateless persons and persons with undetermined nationality” – thereby implying that persons with undetermined nationality are not stateless at all. Finally, like Batchelor, UNHCR has also used the term “de facto statelessness” to refer to a situation where, following a succession of states, a person receives the nationality of a State other than that of the State of their habitual residence.112 110 111 112 relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness”, June 1996 (revised January 1999), p. 10, para. 36: “When the 1954 and 1961 Conventions were drafted, it was assumed that all de facto stateless persons were refugees and would, therefore, benefit from the 1951 Convention. It is now apparent that there are those who do not qualify as refugees but whose nationality status is unclear. The situation of such a person in terms of a lack of national protection may be identical to that of a de jure stateless person. Since lack of protection may result in involuntary displacement, UNHCR is also concerned with promotional and preventive measures on behalf of such individuals. UNHCR continues to explore promotional and preventive activities in this area to which the Office can contribute in collaboration with concerned States.” UN General Assembly Resolution 50/152 of December 1995 similarly expresses concern that “statelessness, including the inability to establish one’s nationality, may result in displacement”. Note also, for example, that in 2005 UNHCR’s Handbook for Parliamentarians also referred to de facto stateless persons as “those who cannot establish their nationality”. See also UNHCR, “Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls”, 1 January 2008, p. 220: “Trafficked women and girls may be unaware of their rights, may lack access to information and advice, and may face obstacles to gaining access to mechanisms that protect those rights. They may find themselves without personal identity documents and be unable to establish their nationality status, leaving them de facto stateless.” Cf. UNHCR, “Guidelines on International Protection: The Application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating the Status of Refugees to victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked”, April 2006, para. 43: “Everyone has the right to return to their own country. States should extend diplomatic protection to their nationals abroad. This includes facilitating their re-entry into the country, including in the case of victims of trafficking who find themselves abroad. If, however, the State withholds such assistance and fails to supply documentation to enable the individual to return, one practical consequence may be to render the individual effectively stateless. Even if the individuals were not previously considered stateless by their State of nationality, they may find themselves effectively treated as such if they attempt to avail themselves of that State’s protection.” See, for example, UNHCR, “Citizenship and Prevention of Statelessness Linked to the Disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia”, Regional Bureau for Europe, European Series, Volume 3, No. 1, 31