Slovenia sets positive example in defending rights by acceding to Statelessness Convention

GENEVA – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, commended Slovenia's commitment to eradicating the devastating plight of statelessness by acceding to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The Convention is the leading international treaty that sets out safeguards to protect people against statelessness, which deprives individuals of the benefits of a nationality. It helps States prevent new cases from arising and, in so doing, reduces statelessness.

Slovenia is the 82^nd State to become a party to the Convention. The accession, which also fulfils Slovenia's pledge at the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023, reflects the country's efforts to uphold and protect fundamental rights.

This important step builds on Slovenia’s commitment as a party to the other major statelessness treaty - the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Slovenia is now demonstrating its dedication to the prevention and reduction of statelessness and the identification and protection of stateless people.

“Statelessness can have severe consequences. The fundamental right to a nationality is essential to accessing other critical rights. We welcome this significant commitment from Slovenia, and the important example it sets,” said Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR Regional Director for Europe.

Today, millions of people around the world are still denied a nationality. UNHCR reports that an estimated 4.4 million people worldwide and just under 500,000 in Europe are either stateless or of undetermined nationality. The real number is likely to be much higher as data is not always available.

The consequences of being denied a nationality can have a devastating affect on access to fundamental rights, including education and health care, as well as leaving people vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, and abuse. Statelessness is often the result of gaps in nationality laws or a lack of legal safeguards and disproportionately impacts children and minority groups.

Statelessness can be resolved when there is political will. Mandated by the international community to prevent and resolve statelessness, UNHCR launched the 10-year #IBelong Campaign to urge States to act on this issue. In the past decade, 25 States – seven of them in Europe – have acceded to one or both conventions on statelessness, reflecting a growing political will and action toward eradicating statelessness globally.

Following the conclusion of UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign in 2024, States now have an opportunity to strengthen their engagement by joining the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, an initiative launched in October 2024 that seeks to accelerate solutions to address statelessness.

Notes for editors:

The international legal definition of a stateless person is "a person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its law". Stateless individuals may be born without nationality or become stateless later in life. The consequences of statelessness are profound, impacting basic human rights, including access to education, health care, marriage, and employment opportunities. The Global Alliance to End Statelessness is a multistakeholder platform that brings together governments, UN agencies, regional and civil society organizations, along with organizations led by stateless people, all sharing a collective undertaking to eradicate statelessness.  

For more information, please contact:

• In Slovenia: Romana Zidar, [email protected]
• In Hungary: Giulia Naboni, [email protected]
• In Geneva: Shabia Mantoo, [email protected]