citizenship of their country of residence or of their country of origin but are not in a condition to enjoy it in practice. The reasons for this are numerous, ranging from disconnection from the country of origin to difficulties in birth registration or socio-economic marginalization. Such situations often particularly affect certain vulnerable groups, such as Roma or displaced persons or refugees. States should consider targeted measures limiting both de jure and de facto statelessness to promote integration. For de jure statelessness, the legal framework should provide for mechanisms to acquire citizenship under reasonable conditions, while policies should ensure that these mechanisms are accessible. For de facto statelessness, policies should be tailor-made to address the specific problem. Such policies may include addressing the lack of civil registration and/or documentation or any other causes leading to de facto statelessness by removing obstacles and proactively seeking solutions that allow for registration. In addition to legal obligations, there are integration-related reasons to facilitate naturalization, as appropriate. The long-term presence of a significant number of persons without citizenship in a State runs counter to the integration of society and potentially poses risks to cohesion and social stability. It is therefore in the interest of the State to provide persons habitually residing on its territory over a prolonged period of time with the opportunity to naturalize without undue obstacles and to actively promote their naturalization. At the same time, it is in the interest of the individual to access all the rights of citizenship and to express in this tangible way a sense of belonging by making all necessary efforts to naturalize. This includes preparing for and meeting the legally determined requirements for naturalization, such as, acquiring adequate knowledge of the State language. 36. Policies that foresee privileged access to citizenship to individuals abroad based on cultural, historical or familial ties should ensure respect for the principles of friendly, including good neighbourly, relations and territorial sovereignty. Such policies should be designed so as to avoid creating ambiguities in relation to jurisdiction. Protecting the rights of minorities is primarily the obligation of the State in which they reside. A State may legitimately have an interest in supporting persons belonging to national minorities residing in other States based on ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious, historical or any other ties. In addition, States may confer citizenship based on preferred linguistic competences as well as on cultural, historical or familial ties. Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 43