A clarification of the fundamental rights implications of stateless and erased persons

In several international instruments nationality is guaranteed as a human right. Consequently, statelessness is already as such in breach of the guarantee that everybody must be able to enjoy all human rights.

This paper describes international treaties which try to assure stateless persons the widest possible exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, respectively try to reduce cases of statelessness. The European Union should encourage Member States to ratify these conventions, preferably without reservations.

The paper discusses the definition of a de iurestateless person, i.e. a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Under this definition, the so-called erased persons in Slovenia - i.e. erased from the register of residents - must be classified as stateless. The same applies for Latvian permanent residents non citizens, be it that the latter category could also be classified as Latvian nationals without citizenship.

Finally, the paper recommends initiating comparative studies of the nationality laws of the Member States regarding the rules on avoidance and reduction of cases of statelessness and the facilitation of the access of stateless persons to the nationality of their country of residence.

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A clarification of the fundamental rights implications of stateless and erased persons