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State to establish a procedure to determine statelessness, the State cannot effectively implement the treaty's provisions without a mechanism for identifying its
beneficiaries. 120 Only after the State identifies stateless persons can it confer an
established status and accord basic rights under the 1954 Statelessness Convention. This process also creates potential naturalization in accordance with international law. 121
Second, identification procedures open the door for the international community to enforce rights-related duties that apply to individuals who lack citizenship. The human dimension of statelessness affects lives and goes beyond basic
State interests. Many studies portray the human impact of lacking citizenship.122
People without citizenship often lack formal identities, and consequently, are often not entitled to the protection (diplomatic or otherwise) that is extended to citizens. The stateless are unable to exercise and enjoy such basic rights as the right
to an education, the right to vote, the right to work, and access to basic social
services. 123
Third, identification procedures impact the rights to which a person is entitled. The protections and rights codified in the 1954 Statelessness Convention are
not the same as the rights of citizens. 124 The 1954 Statelessness Convention does
not have an omnibus bill of rights for stateless people. It only provides what international law considers to be the bare minimum rights for the stateless. Therefore, if a person is determined to be stateless, they are entitled only to the rights
in the 1954 Statelessness Convention—assuming other customary and treaty State
obligations do not apply. For instance, the 1954 Statelessness Convention does
not guarantee the right to vote or the right to political participation for a stateless
individual. In the same manner, these individuals are generally entitled to practice
Typology of Stateless Persons in Japan 150 (Dec. 2017) (arguing that it is essential to identify stateless
persons in Japan to protect them); UNHCR, Note on International Protection, ¶ 33, U.N. Doc. No.
EC/SC/69/CRP.8 (Jun. 4, 2018) (stating that statelessness determination "assists States in fulfilling
their commitments" under the 1954 Statelessness Convention).
120. See Katja Swider & Maarten den Heijer, Why Union Law Can and Should Protect Stateless
Persons, 19 EUR. J. MIGRATION & L. 101, 109 (2017) (analogizing to the 1951 Refugee Convention,
which does not contain an explicit obligation to establish a refugee status determination procedure,
but which States have recognized as creating an implied duty).
121. See Foster et al., supra note 119.
122. There have been several studies on the impact of statelessness, with some studies using different definitions. One of the earliest was UN-sponsored, which used the traditional definition from
the 1940s. See Report on Nationality, Including Statelessness by Manley O. Hudson, Special Rapporteur, at 17, U.N. Doc. A/CN.4/50 (Feb. 21, 1952). See, e.g., Manly van Waas & Berry_Statelessness,
p. 2; UNHCR_I am Here, I Belong.
123. Hudson, supra note 122, at 19–20.
124. Depending on the right concerned, the 1954 Statelessness Convention establishes minimum
standards of treatment along the following scale: (1) "treatment which is to be afforded to stateless
persons irrespective of the treatment afforded to citizens or other aliens;" (2) "the same treatment as
nationals;" (3) "treatment as favorable as possible, and in any event, not less favorable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances; and" (4) "the same treatment accorded to aliens
generally." UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 3: The Status of Stateless Persons at the National Level 3–4 https://www.refworld.org/docid/5005520f2.html (last visited Nov. 26, 2019).