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New Report Documents 11 Million Stateless People
02/14/2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 14, 2005
CONTACT:
Megan Fowler, 202-828-0110 x214
February 14, 2005
CONTACT:
Megan Fowler, 202-828-0110 x214
New
Report by Refugees International Documents Plight of “Stateless” People
“Lives on Hold” Estimates that 11 Million Individuals Have No Citizenship or Effective Nationality
“Lives on Hold” Estimates that 11 Million Individuals Have No Citizenship or Effective Nationality
Washington, DC – In a new report
released today, Refugees International announced that 11 million
individuals worldwide have no citizenship or effective nationality and
called on the United Nations and individual countries to take measures
to reduce the problem. In Lives on
Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness, the group described how
stateless people regularly cannot participate in the political process
of any country and are guaranteed no legal protections. Because of
their status, millions of stateless people have difficulty obtaining
jobs and owning property, receive inadequate access to healthcare and
education, and suffer sexual and physical violence.
“Stateless people are international orphans who have fallen through the cracks of the United Nations,” said Maureen Lynch, Refugees International’s Director of Research and the author of the report. “Unlike other populations of this size, the international community has largely ignored the problems facing the 11 million people who have no citizenship or effective nationality. This is especially true for those who are not classified as refugees.”
The report calls on the UN, individual states and donor governments like the United States to take specific steps to reduce statelessness and improve the quality of life for affected individuals. For example, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has the mandate to help the world’s stateless people when governments fail to do so. Yet, despite the large number of stateless people worldwide, the UNHCR only has two staff members devoted to the issue and there is no dedicated budget line.
“The prevention and reduction of statelessness contributes to the promotion of human rights and increased security worldwide,” said Lynch. “The UN High Commissioner for Refugees should fulfill its duty to stateless people by outlining concrete objectives and establishing a department dedicated to the issue.”
The report documents the human costs of the problem in more than 70 countries with particular emphasis on groups in Bangladesh, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates. The Roma in Europe, individuals from the former Soviet bloc, some of Thailand’s ethnic groups and ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are also discussed.
For example, in Bangladesh, 250,000 Biharis – a group of people who were stripped of their citizenship after Bangladesh became a nation because they sided with West Pakistan during the struggle for independence -- have spent the past three decades living in squalid camps throughout the country. Recently the Bangladeshi government cut food rations to camps, forcing some Bihari families to go without food for two or three days in a row.
A stateless man in the United Arab Emirates told Refugees International, “What have we done to be treated like animals? We can’t get a job and can’t move. We are between the earth and the sky, like a boat without a port.”
For copies of the report, please contact Megan Fowler at 202-828-0110 x214. The report can also be accessed online.
“Stateless people are international orphans who have fallen through the cracks of the United Nations,” said Maureen Lynch, Refugees International’s Director of Research and the author of the report. “Unlike other populations of this size, the international community has largely ignored the problems facing the 11 million people who have no citizenship or effective nationality. This is especially true for those who are not classified as refugees.”
The report calls on the UN, individual states and donor governments like the United States to take specific steps to reduce statelessness and improve the quality of life for affected individuals. For example, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has the mandate to help the world’s stateless people when governments fail to do so. Yet, despite the large number of stateless people worldwide, the UNHCR only has two staff members devoted to the issue and there is no dedicated budget line.
“The prevention and reduction of statelessness contributes to the promotion of human rights and increased security worldwide,” said Lynch. “The UN High Commissioner for Refugees should fulfill its duty to stateless people by outlining concrete objectives and establishing a department dedicated to the issue.”
The report documents the human costs of the problem in more than 70 countries with particular emphasis on groups in Bangladesh, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates. The Roma in Europe, individuals from the former Soviet bloc, some of Thailand’s ethnic groups and ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are also discussed.
For example, in Bangladesh, 250,000 Biharis – a group of people who were stripped of their citizenship after Bangladesh became a nation because they sided with West Pakistan during the struggle for independence -- have spent the past three decades living in squalid camps throughout the country. Recently the Bangladeshi government cut food rations to camps, forcing some Bihari families to go without food for two or three days in a row.
A stateless man in the United Arab Emirates told Refugees International, “What have we done to be treated like animals? We can’t get a job and can’t move. We are between the earth and the sky, like a boat without a port.”
For copies of the report, please contact Megan Fowler at 202-828-0110 x214. The report can also be accessed online.
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Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness
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