The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is strongly committed to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The right to nationality is an important right. The ratification of the Convention will show that no child in Slovenia is born stateless, which would be a step forward towards the ultimate goal of eradicating statelessness on a global scale. Although statelessness is not a problem in Slovenia, the Government has decided to regulate the right to nationality in a comprehensive manner, affirming the commitment to ratify the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees welcomes the Government of Slovenia’s commitment to fundamental rights. “By acceding to the 1961 Statelessness Convention, Slovenia not only commits to ensure that no one will be born stateless in Slovenia and no adult will become stateless, but it is also contributing to eradicating statelessness globally. Signing the 1961 Convention is Slovenia’s latest measure in the fight against statelessness, as part of ongoing work to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness that UNHCR warmly supports.”

It is estimated that over 500,000 people are stateless in Europe alone.  Slovenia is the 80^th country to accede to the 1961 Statelessness Convention, the leading international treaty that sets out rules for the conferral and non-withdrawal of citizenship to prevent new cases of statelessness. Slovenia is also party to 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless persons, acceding in 1992.