Statelessness

Despite the body of international law relating to the acquisition, loss, or denial of citizenship, millions of people around the world have no nationality. They are stateless. Statelessness may result from a variety of causes, including conflict of laws, the transfer of territory, marriage laws, administrative practices, discrimination, lack of birth registration, denationalization (when a State rescinds an individual’s nationality), and renunciation (when an individual refuses the protection of a State). You can find out more about statelessness in our handbook.
handbook

Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians

Bulgarian (pdf)
English (pdf)
Hungarian (pdf)
Polish (pdf)
Slovene (pdf)
Slovak (pdf)
1954

The 1954 Statelessness Convention

The 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons has been signed by 63 state parties.

English (pdf)
1961

The 1961 Statelessness Convention

The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness has been signed by 35 state parties.

English (pdf)