What is statelessness?
A stateless person is someone who isn’t recognised as a citizen by any country. This means they often can’t do things most people take for granted like going to school or work, getting married or registering the birth of a child. Many stateless people live in constant uncertainty, facing discrimination, exclusion, and poor mental health
All European countries have a responsibility under international law to protect stateless people and prevent statelessness. However, many have not turned this commitment into concrete laws or policies. As a result, people are still being left without a nationality. Every year, thousands of children are born stateless in Europe because countries don’t have legal safeguards to make sure that every child acquires a nationality. But statelessness can be prevented. Europe must take action to solve it and stay true to its values of freedom, democracy, equality, and human rights.
Who is stateless in Europe?
Today, at least half a million people in Europe are stateless and the real number is likely much higher. There are many causes of statelessness, such as discrimination, changes in national borders, problems with nationality laws, or governments deliberately denying or stripping people of their nationality.
For example, after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, many people in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe were left stateless. In the former Yugoslavia, some groups of people were left stateless as borders changed and conflicts forced people to move. While many have since established their citizenship, some Roma and other minoritised groups still struggle to get the documents they need to prove their nationality.
Each year, thousands of children are born stateless in Europe because countries don’t have strong enough safeguards in their nationality laws to prevent it.
There are also stateless people who come to Europe as migrants or refugees and are now stuck in limbo. They can’t stay legally, but they have nowhere else to go. Most European countries don’t have procedures to identify and determine statelessness, leaving many without rights and a way to rebuild their lives.
What are the solutions?
Most European countries don’t have the laws and policies needed to meet their international obligations to protect stateless people . This leaves many stuck in limbo, unable to get a nationality or rebuild their lives. Without action, statelessness can be passed down to future generations. To fix this, countries need effective laws and procedures to identify and determine who is stateless and ensure they access their rights, protection, and a pathway to citizenship.
One major issue is that some children in Europe are still born at risk of statelessness because their births are not registered immediately. Making sure every child’s birth is registered is essential to prevent statelessness. Countries also need to improve their nationality laws so that every child born in Europe acquires a nationality from birth.