National Conference hears about obstacles faced by world's 10 million stateless

Practical solutions to the problems faced by people not recognized as nationals of any state are needed to help 10 million stateless persons worldwide, a national conference on Statelessness heard today in Dublin.

(For a note on the conference and its main recomendations and conclusions, please click here)

The break-up of states and redrawing of borders, as well as administrative obstacles and discrimination against ethnic minorities and women, has left millions without access to the basic rights that many of us take for granted as they are not considered nationals of any state.

Essential documentation such as birth and marriage certificates are denied to many causing practical difficulties in accessing identity documents or accessing rights and services. 

“As more countries sign up to the statelessness conventions and introduce determination procedures, momentum is growing worldwide to stamp out Statelessness” said Sophie Magennis, Head of Office with UNHCR Ireland.

“However more is required to help people facing numerous obstacles in their day-to-day lives, in a scenario repeated across countries around the world.”

In Ireland, a scoping exercise conducted by UNHCR indicates that approximately 100 people are estimated to be potentially stateless. However, as there is no formal determination procedure to recognise them as such, they are unable to receive a declaration saying so. This can prevent them from accessing their rights under the 1954 Convention relating to the status of Stateless Persons, to which Ireland is a signatory. In the absence of a determination procedure, the Irish authorities have found solutions for some cases on a case by case basis. However, other potentially stateless persons continue to experience difficulties in regularising their residency status as they are unable to provide the documentation necessary to substantiate an application.

“When people find themselves with no citizenship they have no security, protections or certainty and cannot plan futures for themselves and their families” said Hilkka Becker, Senior Solicitor with the Immigrant Council, which is one of the 50 partner organisations of the European Network on Statelessness.

UNHCR and the Immigrant Council of Ireland, which co-hosted today’s event, are recommending the introduction of a determination procedure to recognise stateless persons in Ireland.

“This will ensure fairness, transparency and efficiency in how such cases are dealt with and improve consistency within the immigration and protection system” said Enda O’Neill, Associate Protection Officer with UNHCR.

Please click on the following links to access the full agenda , in addition to presentations from all the speakers and the UNHCR scoping paper:

For the agenda please click here

Inge Sturkenboom, Regional Statelessness Officer UNHCR. Click here for presentation.
Chris Nash, European Network on Statelessness. Click here for presentation.
UNHCR Scoping Paper on Statelessness in Ireland. Click here for paper.
Hilkka Becker, Immigrant Council of Ireland. Click here for presentation.
Des Hogan, Head of Legal with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Click here for presentation.