ABSTRACT
This chapter expresses that a statelessness policy informed by the interests of stateless persons should prioritise the identification and protection of stateless persons over the elimination of statelessness. It briefly describes three main sets of statelessness policy goals pursued within the UN legal system: The protection of stateless persons, the reduction of statelessness, and the identification of stateless persons. The chapter discusses three case studies in which goals on statelessness are in tension with each other. It illustrates that prioritising the reduction of statelessness over the protection and identification of stateless persons can cause normative problems with regard to upholding the interests and the access to human rights of affected individuals. The chapter evaluates the UN policy goals on statelessness in light of human rights, and suggests reconsidering the current hierarchy of policy goals on statelessness so as to ensure that the interests of affected individuals are at the heart of any policy on statelessness.
