CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION “The issue of statelessness has been left to fester in the shadows for far too long. It is time to take the necessary steps to rid the world of a bureaucratic malaise that is, in reality, not so difficult to resolve. It is simply a question of political will and legislative energy.” António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights1 In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, UNHCR launched a worldwide campaign on statelessness. The plight of people around the world not recognised as a national of any State under the operation of its law and the urgent work needed to address the deprivations they experience as a result remain a central concern in the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).2 Most of these individuals are not refugees. Indeed most have not left their country of birth or a successor State. Some have crossed an international border, however, and live in refugee camps or urban areas. Statelessness is a global problem, with the largest concentration of stateless persons to be found in Asia, but it is also a largely unacknowledged issue on our doorsteps in the United Kingdom.3 In an attempt to gain a greater understanding of the situation facing stateless persons in the UK, and as part of global efforts to tackle statelessness, UNHCR and Asylum Aid have conducted a joint research project seeking to map the size and profile of the stateless population in the UK. The project also aimed to assess the UK’s compliance with its international law obligations to stateless persons. The UK is one of a select group of 37 States to have ratified both the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons4 and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness5, although a number of further State ratifications are expected by the end of 2011. Indeed, British nationality law contains specific provisions that aim to meet the UK’s obligations under the 1961 Convention. However, anecdotal evidence derived from Asylum Aid’s legal team, which provides legal advice and representation to asylum-seekers, and UNHCR’s engagement with the government on this issue suggest that statelessness could be considered a hidden issue. Both government and non-governmental organisations appear to have a variable understanding of statelessness and the issues that it raises. Statelessness seems to be bound-up in the challenges that confront some asylum-seekers and other undocumented 12 1 Guterres, A. and Arbour, L., The Hidden World of Stateless People, UN Office of the High Commisssioner for Human Rights, 28 November 2007, available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=4964&LangID=E. This and all following hyper-links were accessed on 8 and 9 Oct. 2011. 2 See for example, BBC, “UN warning over 12 million stateless people”, 24 Aug. 2011, available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14654066. 3 Hereafter “the UK”. 4 UNTS 5158, Vol.3 60, 117, in force 6 June 1960, UK ratification on 16 April 1959, (hereafter “the 1954 Convention”). 5 UNTS 14458, Vol. 989, p175, in force 13 December 1975, UK ratification on 29 March 1966, (hereafter “the 1961 Convention”). Mapping statelessness