Stateless person - Definition and Overview

A stateless person is someone with no state or nationality, usually because the state that gave their previous nationality has ceased to exist and there is no successor state.

Whilst more common before the 20th century, when states were somewhat more fragile entities, on September 20, 1954 the United Nations adopted the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: an active policy to prevent people becoming or remaining stateless. Despite this, there are still Kashmiri and Palestinian refugees who are claiming asylum due to statelessness, for example.

External links

• UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (http://www.hri.ca/uninfo/treaties/81.shtml) (full text)
• Full list of (and links to) treaties on Stateless persons (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1042718800592) from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website

• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (http://unpo.org/)

Example Usage of Stateless