II. KEY CONCEPTS Stateless person A stateless person is defined as a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.15 Stateless persons are protected under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Statelessness can be caused by a number of factors such as: discrimination in nationality laws and practice (e.g. based on race, religion or gender), conflict between and gaps in nationality laws, and State succession. In the absence of adequate mechanisms to identify stateless persons, individuals may be registered under categories such as ‘unknown nationality’, ‘undetermined citizenship’ or ‘nationality to be confirmed’ or under specific designations for particular stateless groups. While each country and institution will have a different understanding of who is registered under these categories, special attention should be paid to them as they could include stateless persons. Risk of Statelessness The following is a non-exhaustive list of persons who may be at risk of statelessness on account of belonging to one or more of the following groups: persons living in border areas where a lack of birth registration, civil registration and identity documents may lead to confusion as to whether they are nationals of one State or another; victims of trafficking; minorities and persons who have perceived or actual ties with foreign States; nomadic or semi-nomadic populations whose territories cross international borders; and migrant and refugee populations where difficulty proving nationality of the country of origin may occur as a result of one or more generations of descendants having been born abroad, a difficulty that potentially increases with each successive generation. Further, lack of birth 15 10 Article 1, 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention). This definition is recognized as customary international law and applies therefore even to States not Party to the 1954 Convention. See Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html and UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, Para. 18-56. STATELESS PERSONS IN DETENTION