What is statelessness and who is stateless? To understand the potential impact of new identification systems on stateless persons and those at risk of statelessness, it is first necessary to understand who is “stateless.” This is not necessarily obvious. The official definition of a stateless person in international law is “a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.”13 There is a large literature discussing the detailed content of this apparently simple definition.14 For international policy purposes, UNHCR guidance notes that statelessness is a “mixed question of fact and law.”15 The starting point to determine whether a particular individual is stateless is of course the law of the different states that might be relevant as they apply to the facts of that individual’s place and date of birth, parents, and residence. These laws include not only the main nationality law, but also laws on civil registration, identification, and the recognition of family relations. It is also necessary to establish whether the person can provide the evidence necessary to prove those facts to the satisfaction of the competent authorities. UNHCR distinguishes between two main groups of stateless persons: those who are “in a migratory context,” that is, living in a country where they were not born and do not have long-term connections; and those who are living “in situ” in what may be considered their “own country” because of their very strong connections to that state. The majority of stateless people globally are living in the country of their birth and lifelong residence—in their “own country.”16 Despite this fact, they may in practice be treated by that state as irregular migrants, whether because of their inability to provide evidence of the facts entitling them to nationality, or because the law provides no rights to nationality of any kind based on birth in the territory, even over multiple generations. This status has serious consequences for their access to rights and services. The “mixed” nature of statelessness means, however, that there is a large category of people whose status as “stateless” or “not stateless” is unclear. Not all stateless people lack identity documents; they hold documents of different kinds, but none that recognize nationality. And not all people without identity documents are stateless; with assistance, they can confirm nationality and acquire the necessary documents. While there are known risk factors that make statelessness more likely—in general, related to perceptions (whether rooted in reality or not) that an individual or group is of “foreign” origin—it is very often not possible to determine without further inquiry whether any particular person who lacks an identity document recognizing nationality is, in fact, stateless. 13 14 15 16 Article 1(1), Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Summarized in Manby, “Schrödinger’s Citizenship: Framing Perspectives for the Resolution of Statelessness.” UNHCR, “Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons.” See the discussion of the meaning of a person’s “own country” in UN Human Rights Committee, “CCPR General Comment No. 27.” Statelessness and digital identity 6