governing the entry and residence of non-citizens should take into consideration the specific situation of stateless persons, particularly those who are outside their country of habitual residence. The UN should also promote and provide advice on laws and regulations establishing a formalized procedure, and where applicable, the creation of institutions, for determining who is stateless on a territory. States should grant the individuals, who are confirmed to be stateless through such determination procedures, the right to stay on their territory, as well as concomitant civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights if they do not have the right to return to and reside in another State. • The UN should promote respect of international human rights standards visà-vis stateless persons: While some distinctions between nationals and nonnationals are permissible under international law, authorities must be made aware of their duty to guarantee the rights of all persons within their territory or under their jurisdiction, including stateless persons. Training should inform authorities dealing with stateless persons about statelessness and its consequences and the importance of non-discrimination. Training of law enforcement agencies and courts helps to ensure that rights of stateless persons are respected and enforced where necessary, for instance to prevent trafficking of stateless persons. Exchanges between stateless people and public authorities can be organized to highlight specific difficulties that stateless people face in a country. UN agencies should ensure that their own and their partners’ policies and programmes reflect that some persons in the country of operation have no nationality and may therefore need specific attention and should generally not be excluded on the basis that they are foreigners. • The UN should assist with capacity-building and training to assist authorities to be able to identify stateless persons and extend treatment in accordance with international standards: Authorities dealing with assessing the nationality of persons within the territory must be made aware of the existence and consequences of statelessness and the importance of accurately assessing nationality status. Good cooperation between countries facilitating exchange of information with full respect for the rights of the individual is essential. Training on determining nationality should also extend to courts deciding nationality claims. Authorities and courts responsible for decisions on the status of aliens should be made aware of how the situation of stateless persons, including de facto stateless persons, can be addressed in the national legal system in a manner consistent with international standards. • Empowering stateless persons through legal assistance and integration programmes: Stateless persons must be aware of their rights and may require practical or legal assistance with, for example, nationality verification processes. Any programmes to assist local populations with access to education, health care or income-generation should, where possible, also include stateless populations. Such socio-economic integration of stateless persons helps to create political will for achieving full integration through the acquisition of a nationality by lowering the political stakes for such a decision. Where possible, activities should also consider how integration can promote acquisition of a nationality, for instance by helping stateless persons to fulfil requirements for naturalization. For example, language classes not only help stateless persons improve their interactions with authorities generally but also - 13 -