II. Definitions and cross-cutting issues Terms and definitions At the heart of international efforts to tackle statelessness lie two United Nations (UN) Conventions: the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (hereafter also 1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (hereafter also 1961 Convention). Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention defines the term “stateless person”: For the purpose of this Convention, the term ‘stateless person’ means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. 7 In the Handbook, the following terms will be used: (i) Stateless persons are defined as persons who are not considered as nationals by any State under the operation of its law, as set out in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention. (ii) De facto stateless persons are described as persons outside the coun- try of their nationality who are unable or, for valid reasons, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. Protection in this sense refers to the right of diplomatic protection exercised by a State of nationality in order to remedy an internationally wrongful act against one of its nationals, as well as to provide diplomatic and consular protection and assistance generally, including in relation to return to the state of nationality.8 In practice, this situation is evidenced by (i) the refusal of the country of nationality to allow a person to return, even though that country still formally recognizes the individual as a national or (ii) the refusal of a diplomatic mission to issue a passport to one of its nationals where there are no 13