2 Good Practices Addressing Statelessness in South East Asia Introduction Statelessness is a global phenomenon, affecting all regions, including South East Asia. Indeed, it has emerged as one of the most pressing problems facing states today, as the devastating impact that it can have on the lives of individuals and the fabric of communities comes into focus. At the same time, good practices are also surfacing as states and other stakeholders take steps to address statelessness. In order to exchange experiences from the region, an Expert Roundtable was held in Bangkok on the 28th and 29th of October 2010 to discuss initiatives in South East Asia in the field of statelessness. The meeting was convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, with funding provided by donors, including the European Commission. This publication serves as a report of the Roundtable and provides an insight into some of the region’s good practices. In accordance with the agenda of the meeting itself, good practice examples are included from each of the four pillars of response: the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. The publication also presents some overarching observations that surfaced during the Roundtable and can be valuable in shaping further efforts to address statelessness. A “stateless person” A stateless person is “a person who is not A stateless person is someone considered as a national by any State under who is not considered as a the operation of its law”. This definition is national by any state under considered to be part of customary internathe operation of its law. tional law. As such, it forms the cornerstone for identifying and responding to problems of statelessness. The definition can also be found in article 1 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, an instrument that confers rights and duties on people who meet the definition. When applying the definition of a stateless person in practice and deciding if a person is considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law, it is important to look not only at the content of relevant nationality law. How the legal provisions are interpreted and applied by the state in a particular case also needs to be taken into account. In some cases, but certainly not always, a stateless person may also be undocumented, hold an irregular immigration status and/or be a refugee. The fact that a stateless person’s circumstances can also be characterised through the use of other terms has no bearing on the finding of statelessness. A staff member from Thailand’s Bureau of Social Development interviews a hill tribe villager in Chiang Mai about her nationality, legal status and access to social services. [UNESCO/P. Sidonrusmee]