The Convention relating to the status of non-state, stateless persons.
Text of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons with introductory note Office United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Apostates.
Introductory Note
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Apostates (UNHCR)
In 1951, the United Nations General Assembly convened a Conference of Plenipotentiaries to draft an international treaty on refugees
and stateless persons. Although the Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees was adopted that same year, international negotiations on protecting the needs of stateless persons continued. The Convention relating to the Status
of Stateless Persons was adopted on September 28, 1954, and entered into force on June 6, 1960. It establishes a framework for the international protection of stateless persons and is the most comprehensive codification of the rights of stateless persons ever undertaken at the international level.
The 1954 Convention's most significant contribution to international law is its definition of a "stateless person" as a person "who is not considered a national of any State under its law." For those who meet the criteria for statelessness, the Convention establishes important minimum standards of treatment. The Convention requires that stateless persons have the same rights as citizens with respect to freedom of religion and the education of their children. With respect to a number of other rights, such as the right to association, employment, and housing, it stipulates that stateless persons must be treated at least as equally as other non-citizens.
To address the profound vulnerabilities affecting stateless persons and address the practical challenges they face in their daily lives, the Convention affirms the right to freedom of movement for stateless persons lawfully within the territory and requires States to provide them with identity documents and travel documents. The Convention also prohibits the expulsion of stateless persons lawfully within the territory of a State Party.
Since protection as a stateless person is not a substitute for possession of a nationality, the Convention requires States to facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons. As with the 1951 Convention relating the Status of Refugees, the 1954 Convention explicitly excludes individuals when there are serious reasons for considering that they have committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a serious non-political crime abroad.
The Contracting States shall issue identity papers to any stateless person in their territory who does not possess a valid travel document.
The Contracting States shall issue to stateless persons lawfully staying in their territory travel documents for the purpose of travel outside their territory, unless compelling reasons of national security or public order otherwise require, and the provisions of the Schedule to this Convention shall apply with respect to such documents. The Contracting States may issue such a travel document to any other stateless person in their territory; they shall in particular give sympathetic consideration to the issue of such a travel document to stateless persons in their territory who are unable to obtain a travel document from the country of their lawful residence.
1. The Contracting States shall not impose upon stateless persons duties, charges or taxes, of any description whatsoever, other or higher than those which are or may be levied on their nationals in similar situations.
2. Nothing in the above paragraph shall prevent the application to stateless persons of the laws and regulations concerning charges in respect of the issue to aliens of administrative documents including identity papers.
1. A Contracting State shall, in conformity with its laws and regulations, permit stateless persons to transfer assets which they have brought into its territory, to another country where they have been admitted for the purposes of resettlement.
2. A Contracting State shall give sympathetic consideration to the application of stateless persons for permission to transfer assets wherever they may be and which are necessary for their resettlement in another country to which they have been admitted.
1. The Contracting States shall not expel a stateless person lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order.
2. The expulsion of such a stateless person shall be only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with due process of law. Except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, the stateless person shall be allowed to submit evidence to clear himself, and to appeal to and be represented for the purpose before competent authority or a person or persons specially designated by the competent authority.
3. The Contracting States shall allow such a stateless person a reasonable period within which to seek legal admission into another country. The Contracting States reserve the right to apply during that period such internal measures as they may deem necessary.
1. The Contracting States shall not expel a stateless person lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order.
2. The expulsion of such a stateless person shall be only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with due process of law. Except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, the stateless person shall be allowed to submit evidence to clear himself, and to appeal to and be represented for the purpose before competent authority or a person or persons specially designated by the competent authority.
3. The Contracting States shall allow such a stateless person a reasonable period within which to seek legal admission into another country. The Contracting States reserve the right to apply during that period such internal measures as they may deem necessary.
The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings.
Chapter VI: Final Clauses.
The Contracting States shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations the laws and regulations which they may adopt to ensure the application of this Convention.
Any dispute between Parties to this Convention relating to its interpretation or application, which cannot be settled by other means, shall be referred to the International Court of Justice at the request of any one of the parties to the dispute.
1. This Convention shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of the United Nations until 31 December 1955.
2. It shall be open for signature on behalf of:
(a) Any State Member of the United Nations;
(b) Any other State invited to attend the United Nations Conference on the Status of Stateless Persons; and
(c) Any State to which an invitation to sign or to accede may be addressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
3. It shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
4. It shall be open for accession by the States referred to in paragraph 2 of this article. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1. Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all or any of the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible. Such a declaration shall take effect when the Convention enters into force for the State concerned.
2. At any time thereafter any such extension shall be made by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the day of receipt by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of this notification, or as from the date of entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned, whichever is the later.
3. With respect to those territories to which this Convention is not extended at the time of signature, ratification or accession, each State concerned shall consider the possibility of taking the necessary steps in order to extend the application of this Convention to such territories, subject, where necessary for constitutional reasons, to the consent of the Governments of such territories.
In the case of a Federal or non-unitary State, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the legislative jurisdiction of the federal legislative authority, the obligations of the Federal Government shall to this extent be the same as those of Parties which are not Federal States;
(b) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the legislative jurisdiction of constituent States, provinces or cantons which are not, under the constitutional system of the Federation, bound to take legislative action, the Federal Government shall bring such articles with a favourable recommendation to the notice of the appropriate authorities of States, provinces or cantons at the earliest possible moment;
(c) A Federal State Party to this Convention shall, at the request of any other Contracting State transmitted through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, supply a statement of the law and practice of the Federation and its constituent units in regard to any particular provision of the Convention showing the extent to which effect has been given to that provision by legislative or other action.
1. At the time of signature, ratification or accession, any State may make reservations to articles of the Convention other than to articles 1, 3, 4, 16 (1) and 33 to 42 inclusive.
2. Any State making a reservation in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may at any time withdraw the reservation by a communication to that effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the day of deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.
1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention at any time by a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. Such denunciation shall take effect for the Contracting State concerned one year from the date upon which it is received by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. Any State which has made a declaration or notification under article 36 may, at any time thereafter, by a notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, declare that the Convention shall cease to extend to such territory one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the SecretaryGeneral.
1. Any Contracting State may request revision of this Convention at any time by a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall recommend the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such request.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all Members of the United Nations and non-Member States referred to in article 35:
(a) Of signatures, ratifications and accessions in accordance with article 35;
(b) Of declarations and notifications in accordance with article 36;
(c) Of reservations and withdrawals in accordance with article 38;
(d) Of the date on which this Convention will come into force in accordance with article 39;
(e) Of denunciations and notifications in accordance with article 40; (f ) Of requests for revision in accordance with article 41.
in faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Convention on behalf of their respective Governments.
done at New York, this twenty-eighth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-four, in a single copy, of which the English, French and Spanish texts are equally authentic and which shall remain deposited in the archives of the United Nations, and certified true copies of which shall be delivered to all Members of the United Nations and to the non-Member States referred to in article 35.
Paragraph 1
1. The travel document referred to in article 28 of this Convention shall indicate that the holder is a stateless person under the terms of the Convention of 28 September 1954.
2. The document shall be made out in at least two languages, one of which shall be English or French.
3. The Contracting States will consider the desirability of adopting the model travel document attached hereto.
Paragraph 2
Subject to the regulations obtaining in the country of issue, children may be included in the travel document of a parent or, in exceptional circumstances, of another adult.
Paragraph 3
The fees charged for issue of the document shall not exceed the lowest scale of charges for national passports.
Paragraph 4
Save in special or exceptional cases, the document shall be made valid for the largest possible number of countries.
Paragraph 5
The document shall have a validity of not less than three months and not more than two years.
Paragraph 6
1. The renewal or extension of the validity of the document is a matter for the authority which issued it, so long as the holder has not established lawful residence in another territory and resides lawfully in the territory of the said authority. The issue of a new document is, under the same conditions, a matter for the authority which issued the former document.
2. Diplomatic or consular authorities may be authorized to extend, for a period not exceeding six months, the validity of travel documents issued by their Governments.
3. The Contracting States shall give sympathetic consideration to renewing or extending the validity of travel documents or issuing new documents to stateless persons no longer lawfully resident in their territory who are unable to obtain a travel document from the country of their lawful residence.
Paragraph 7
The Contracting States shall recognize the validity of the documents issued in accordance with the provisions of article 28 of this Convention.
Paragraph 8
The competent authorities of the country to which the stateless person desires to proceed shall, if they are prepared to admit him and if a visa is required, affix a visa on the document of which he is the holder.
Paragraph 9
1. The Contracting States undertake to issue transit visas to stateless persons who have obtained visas for a territory of final destination.
2. The issue of such visas may be refused on grounds which would justify refusal of a visa to any alien.
Paragraph 10
The fees for the issue of exit, entry or transit visas shall not exceed the lowest scale of charges for visas on foreign passports.
Paragraph 11
When a stateless person has lawfully taken up residence in the territory of another Contracting State, the responsibility for the issue of a new document, under the terms and conditions of article 28 shall be that of the competent authority of that territory, to which the stateless person shall be entitled to apply.
Paragraph 12
The authority issuing a new document shall withdraw the old document and shall return it to the country of issue if it is stated in the document that it should be so returned; otherwise it shall withdraw and cancel the document.
Paragraph 13
1. A travel document issued in accordance with article 28 of this Convention shall, unless it contains a statement to the contrary, entitle the holder to re-enter the territory of the issuing State at any time during the period of its validity. In any case the period during which the holder may return to the country issuing the document shall not be less than three months, except when the country to which the stateless person proposes to travel does not insist on the travel document according the right of re-entry.
2. Subject to the provisions of the preceding sub-paragraph, a Contracting State may require the holder of the document to comply with such formalities as may be prescribed in regard to exit from or return to its territory.
Paragraph 14
Subject only to the terms of paragraph 13, the provisions of this Schedule in no way affect the laws and regulations governing the conditions of admission to, transit through, residence and establishment in, and departure from, the territories of the Contracting States.
Paragraph 15
Neither the issue of the document nor the entries made thereon determine or affect the status of the holder, particularly as regards nationality.
Paragraph 16
The issue of the document does not in any way entitle the holder to the protection of the diplomatic or consular authorities of the country of issue, and does not ipso facto confer on these authorities a right of protection.
Annex:
Model Travel Document
It is recommended that the document be in booklet form (approximately 15 x 10 centimetres), that it be so printed that any erasure or alteration by chemical or other means can be readily detected, and that the words “Convention of 28 September 1954” be printed in continuous repetition on each page, in the language of the issuing country.
(Cover of booklet)
Travel Document
(Convention of 28 September 1954)
no. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1)
TraVeL DoCUMenT
(Convention of 28 September 1954)
This document expires on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. unless its validity is extended or renewed.
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forename(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accompanied by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . child (children).
1. This document is issued solely with a view to providing the holder with a travel document which can serve in lieu of a national passport. It is without prejudice to and in no way affects the holder’s nationality.
2. The holder is authorized to return to. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[state here the country whose authorities are issuing the document] on or before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . unless some later date is hereafter specified. [The period during which the holder is allowed to return must not be less than three months except when the country to which the holder proposes to travel does not insist on the travel document according the right of re-entry.]
3. Should the holder take up residence in a country other than that which issued the present document, he must, if he wishes to travel again, apply to the competent authorities of his country of residence for a new document. [The old travel document shall be withdrawn by the authority issuing the new document and returned to the authority which issued it.](1)
(This document contains.32 pages, exclusive of cover.)
(2)
Place and date of birth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Present residence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
*Maiden name and forename(s) of wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
*Name and forename(s) of husband. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .



