Since the prohibition against refoulement is accepted as a principle of international law, the drafters of the Convention felt it was not necessary to enshrine it in the articles of a Convention that is regulating the status of de jure stateless persons. Once a final decision of expulsion has been taken, the Convention asks that States grant the individual concerned sufficient time to obtain admission to another country. What kind of naturalization procedure should be available to persons recognized as stateless? States Parties to the Convention are requested to facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons to the greatest extent possible. (The word “assimilation” here does not mean loss of the specific identity of the persons involved, but rather integration into the economic, social, and cultural life of the country.) In particular, they are required to make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings, including by reducing fees and costs whenever possible. After Timor-Leste declared independence from Indonesia, all East Timorese living in Indonesia were given the option of retaining Indonesian citizenship or acquiring Timor-Leste citizenship with which they could remain in Indonesia as aliens with a valid residence permit. Some countries have included in their nationality legislation reduced terms of legal residence for refugees and stateless persons who want to apply for naturalization. The 1997 European Convention on Nationality (ECN) further develops this recommendation by requesting that domestic law contain rules that make it possible for foreigners lawfully and habitually resident in the territory to be naturalized. The ECN additionally limits any residency requirements to a maximum of 10 years before an individual would be entitled to lodge an application for naturalization. The Convention also encourages States to consider using expedited naturalization procedures for stateless persons and recognized refugees. What is significant about the Final Act of the Convention? The Final Act recommends that each Contracting State, when it recognizes as valid the reasons for which a person has renounced the protection of the State of which he/she is a national, consider sympathetically the possibility of according to that person the treatment which the convention accords to stateless persons. This recommendation was included on behalf of de facto stateless persons who, technically, still hold a nationality but do not receive any of the benefits generally associated with nationality, notably national protection. What are the best ways of protecting stateless persons? The most effective way to protect stateless persons is by crafting legislation that makes it impossible to create a situation of statelessness in the first place (see Chapter 3 for a full discussion of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and of related measures that States can adopt to reduce or eliminate statelessness). 25