Degrees of Statelessness accepted that the CRC provision is designed to promote recognition of a child’s legal personality and identity; that the child should be respected as a person in their own right. 48 Although the debate around the concept and meaning of statelessness and the scope of the UNHCR mandate has not been resolved, a consensus has formed that although states are compelled by the law of statelessness to assist de jure stateless persons, they are only ‘encouraged’ to assist de facto stateless persons. 49 Scholars such as David Baluarte have — as recently as 2017 — demonstrated that international bodies have repeatedly declined to extend the legal definition of statelessness to include those within de facto categories. This consensus has instead shown that challenges related to ineffective nationality are better approached by raising individual cases with the related country as a violation of human rights. 50 Those arguing for a broader understanding of de facto statelessness as lack of ‘effective nationality’ have posited that individuals facing obstacles to the acquisition of nationality should be included within the scope of statelessness law. These obstacles of course differ depending on circumstances, but could include difficulty registering births, difficulty accessing any form of legal documentation (such as birth certificate or household registration) or difficulty claiming access to any of the rights and protections usually afforded by nationality. 51 From this perspective, individuals falling under this category may not be stateless under legal definitions, but could suffer from similar (if not the same) difficulties related to a lack of access, rights and protections. In our view a procedural approach to addressing discrimination that arises from de facto statelessness is an appropriate compromise of these competing views. III CASE STUDY: THE CHILDREN OF RETURNED MARRIAGE MIGRANTS FROM CAN THO A The Context: Marriage Migration As previously noted, Vietnam has been and is the largest source country for marriage migrants within Southeast Asia over the last two decades. Since the late 1990s, Vietnamese women have migrated abroad through marriage to many destinations, most prominently Taiwan, South Korea and also to mainland China. Until about 2003, Taiwan was the most popular destination for brides, after which 48 49 50 51 Ineta Ziemele, ‘Article7: The Right to Birth Registration, Name and Nationality, and the Right to Know and Be Cared for by Parents’, in Andre Alen et al (eds) A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Martinus Nijhoff 2007) 1, 1. David C Baluarte, ‘The Risk of Statelessness: Reasserting a Rule for the Protection of the Right to Nationality’ (2017) 19(1) Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal 47, 79– 80. ibid 82. Massey (n 2) 16. 77