international law, which also has provisions on the right to nationality under Article 15(1) which states that “Everyone has the right to a nationality.” These treaties should ensure that the Malaysian legislation on nationality complies with the treaties’ provisions, as well as act as an accountability mechanism to ensure Malaysia’s obligations are fulfilled through regular reporting and scrutiny by UN human rights bodies. Accession to the 1954 Convention ensures that all stateless persons in Malaysia are entitled to a set of civil, economic, social, and cultural rights that they may not otherwise qualify for within the domestic legislation, procedures, and policies. Malaysia would be obligated under international law to guarantee all stateless persons in Malaysia the rights listed in the 1954 Convention, such as access to employment, education, housing, social security, identity papers, travel documents, and facilitated naturalisation. There is also an implied obligation that States must identify stateless persons in order to guarantee them rights, so Malaysia would have to establish a statelessness determination procedure (SDP) to identify stateless persons. The Convention does not force Malaysia to grant citizenship to all stateless persons but they are required to prioritise and assist with the naturalisation of stateless persons by reducing the costs of the naturalisation process. In summary, this Convention would help stateless persons gain access to employment, housing, education, and social security, which they are currently denied access to, as well as encourage Malaysia to establish its SDP. The 1961 Convention outlines specific, legally binding measures for States to implement to prevent and reduce statelessness, as compared to the 1954 Convention which aims to protect the rights of stateless persons. Under the 1961 Convention, Malaysia would have to fulfil the following obligations: first, positive obligations to grant nationality at birth in several circumstances; second, obligations relating to loss, deprivation or renunciation of nationality; and lastly, safeguarding against statelessness in cases of the creation of a new state or transfer of territory. Article 9 provides that nationality shall not be deprived on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, or political reasons. The Convention would require Malaysia to grant nationality to a person born on its territory who would otherwise be stateless, meaning a child born in Malaysia is entitled to Malaysian citizenship if they have no other nationality or are not able to acquire any 45