Ratification of the two UN Statelessness Conventions in the Asia-Pacific Region
This factsheet sets out the States that are party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in the Asia-Pacific region.
Only six States in the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Philippines, South Korea and Turkmenistan) are party to the 1954 Convention, and only five States (Australia, Kiribati, New Zealand, Philippines and Turkmenistan) are party to the 1961 Convention. Furthermore, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Turkmenistan are the only States in the region which have established a Statelessness Determination Procedure.[i]
[Note on terminology: Ratification or accession is a process by which a State confirms its consent to be bound by the treaty.[ii] Ratification is usually preceded by signing the treaty. Accession has the same legal effect as ratification and is when a State agrees to be bound by a treaty signed by other States. A State succeeds to a treaty when a ‘successor State’ (a State which replaces another State – for example, a newly independent State) expresses its consent to be bound by the treaty.[iii]
| Has the State ratified the 1954 Convention? | Has the State ratified the 1961 Convention? | |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | No | No |
| Australia | Yes - acceded 13 Dec 1973 | Yes - acceded 13 Dec 1973 |
| Bangladesh | No | No |
| Bhutan | No | No |
| Brunei Darussalam | No | No |
| Cambodia | No | No |
| China | No (however, the 1954 Convention applies to Hong Kong through ratification by United Kingdom on 29 Mar 1966; upon resuming exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China gave notification that Convention will continue to apply to Hong Kong) | No |
| Cook Islands | No | No |
| Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) | No | No |
| Federated States of Micronesia | No | No |
| Fiji | No | No |
| India | No | No |
| Indonesia | No | No |
| Iran | No | No |
| Japan | No | No |
| Kazakhstan | No | No |
| Kiribati | Yes – succeeded 29 Nov 1983 | Yes – succeeded 29 Nov 1983 |
| Kyrgyzstan | No | No |
| Laos | No | No |
| Malaysia | No | No |
| Maldives | No | No |
| Marshall Islands | No | No |
| Mongolia | No | No |
| Myanmar | No | No |
| Nauru | No | No |
| Nepal | No | No |
| New Zealand | No | Yes – acceded 20 Sep 2006 |
| Niue | No | No |
| Pakistan | No | No |
| Palau | No | No |
| Papua New Guinea | No | No |
| Philippines | Yes – ratified 22 Sep 2011 | Yes- acceded 24 Mar 2022 |
| Republic of Korea (South Korea ) | Yes – acceded 22 Aug 1962 | No |
| Samoa | No | No |
| Singapore | No | No |
| Solomon Islands | No | No |
| Sri Lanka | No | No |
| Tajikistan | No | No |
| Thailand | No | No |
| Timor-Leste | No | No |
| Tonga | No | No |
| Turkmenistan | Yes – acceded 7 Dec 2011 | Yes – acceded 29 Aug 2012 |
| Tuvalu | No | No |
| Uzbekistan | No | No |
| Vanuatu | No | No |
| Vietnam | No | No |
Sources
United Nations Treaty Collection, 3. Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
United Nations Treaty Collection, 4. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
[i] Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
[ii] Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, opened for signature 23 May 1969, 1155 UNTS 331 (entered into force 27 January 1980) art 2(b).
[iii] Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties, opened for signature 23 August 1978, 1946 UNTS 3 (entered into force 6 November 1996) art 2(d)-(g).