The+legal+status+of+natural+persons+in+areas+where+there+has+been+a+succession+of+States

 It is the right of every individual to be the naturalized citizen of his or her respective country. States reserve this right to its citizens on the merit of birth within its borders. Most states also allow persons to be naturalized and become its legal citizens after a due process. The problem arises when a state ceases to exist or when new states are formed. According to Article 1 of the General Assembly Resolution 55/153, "Every individual who, on the date of the succession of States, had the nationality of the Predecessor State, irrespective of the mode of acquisition of that nationality, has the right to the nationality of at least one of the States concerned, in accordance with the present articles". However, this is not often followed by states, as can be seen by the various refugee populations around the world. An example of this scenario can be seen in the Israel-Palestine conflict. When Israel was created in 1947, the resident Palestinians of the area wanted to remain citizens of the predecessor state, Palestine. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the inhabitants of the area lost their homes and their means of livelihood. They became refugees in the neighboring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and as of 2005, this population account for 4.3 million persons. Iraq believes that this is a very important issue, as a succession of states, often leaves natural persons, perhaps former citizens, in a state of potential chaos. Having experienced such an act, the state of Iraq, believes, that it is essential to communicate to the people steps being taken, and to document/re-document all natural persons.