NO COUNTRY TO CALL HOME: THE SCOPE OF STATELESSNESS
The sheer magnitude of global statelessness is overwhelming. Stateless persons are just one category of the world’s 175 million so-called non-citizens that include refugees and asylum-seekers, migrants, immigrants who have entered a new country for reasons other than employment (e.g., family reunification), non-immigrants (foreign students, business visitors, temporary foreign workers, and unsuccessful asylum-seekers), trafficked persons, and undocumented individuals.
Who is a stateless person? Article 1 of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as “a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.” The UNHCR identifies a stateless person as someone who is “not recognized by any country as a citizen,” and this definition generally refers to a specific group of people known as de jure (legally) stateless persons. It generally does not encompass the many people, de facto (or effectively) stateless persons, who are unable to establish their nationality or whose citizenship is disputed by one or more countries. However, a resolution attached to the 1961 Convention recommends that persons who are de facto stateless should as far as possible be treated as de jure, to enable them to acquire an effective nationality. Stateless persons may be registered as foreigners, non-national residents, or be categorized as nationals of another state even in instances where the other state does not consider them as nationals and will not protect them. In other cases, persons may be registered as stateless, but this information may not be available due to political sensitivities. Some stateless people may not register at all fearing that state authorities use registration records to identify them for persecution. A stateless person may also be a refugee if forced to leave the country of habitual residence because of a well-founded fear of persecution. How many stateless people are there? The exact number of stateless people is unknown. While UNHCR previously used an estimate of nine million, the agency’s Global Appeal 2005 uses simply “millions.” A survey conducted by the agency in 2003 indicated over half of the respondents had encountered problems of statelessness. Nonetheless, UNHCR reports statistics are hard to compile because: 1) unclear citizenship or nationality is often disputed; 2) the concept of statelessness is surrounded by ambiguities; 3) there is a reluctance of governments to collect or disseminate information; 4) some people prefer to remain stateless rather than to be given a nationality not to their preference; 5) there is little information about stateless persons in detention centers; 6) UNHCR and other agencies have limited operational involvement; and 7) this issue is not yet an international priority. Based on evidence available, Refugees International estimates the low end estimate to be over 11 million. Estimates including only the largest populations range from hundreds of thousands to several million, including the Banyarwanda, hill tribes in Thailand, Kurds, Palestinians, and Roma. The Banyarwanda Among the Banyarwanda, the Banyamulenge are ethnic Tutsis who went to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) from Rwanda centuries ago to find greener pasture and escape high taxes being imposed by the Rwandan government. They settled in the hills called Mulenge, found between Lake Kivu and Tanganyika, in what is now referred to as South Kivu. They were accepted by the local population. Over time, the population of Banyamulenge has become an estimated 300,000 to 400,000. In January 1972, Zairian citizenship was granted to all Rwandan and Burundian natives who had settled in Zaire prior to 1950. The Banyamulenge used this new-found political influence to their advantage and began to purchase ancestral land from the traditional chiefs. By 1981, the1972 decree had been invalidated by the Zairian parliament effectively rendering the people of Rwandese origin (including the Banyamulenge) stateless persons. In 1996, officials intensified their claims that the Banyamulenge were not legitimate citizens. A local official warned that all Banyamulenge must leave the country within a week and threatened to confiscate their property. As violence increased, the Banyamulenge people armed themselves and counterattacked, repelling the Zairian offensive. The areas rapidly fell into the hands of rebels. In December 2004, a new Citizenship act was adopted by the Congolese Parliament which only partially addresses the access to Congolese citizenship by the Banyarwanda populations presently living in Congo or having fled as refugees in neighboring countries. Thailand’s Hill Tribes Another large group lacking effective nationality is Thailand’s hill tribe people. This group includes members of Akna, Lanu, Lisu, Yao, Hmong, and Karen ethnic communities, and is estimated by the government of Thailand to be two million persons. Despite being born in Thailand, almost half of the country’s hill tribe people lack Thai citizenship, and are unable to vote, buy land, seek legal employment, or travel freely. In 2001, the Thai Cabinet granted temporary residency rights for one year to those who had previously taken part in government survey and other individuals lacking identification. To secure citizenship they had to show that they, and at least one of their parents, had been born in Thailand. This had been difficult for those born in remote mountainous communities. The government extended the filing deadline to 2003. Following expiry of the most recent filing deadline, many hill tribe people, considered illegal migrants and/or stateless persons, have lived under threat of expulsion, and been denied access to many economic and social benefits. In December 2004, the Thai Government admitted that up to 2 to 2.5 million people live in Thailand without citizenship and created an inter-ministerial taskforce to propose solutions to facilitate acquisition of Thai nationality including systematic birth registration. The Kurds The Kurds live primarily in the mountains and uplands where Turkey, Iraq, and Iran come together. About half of the world's 25 million to 30 million Kurds live in Turkey (about 20 percent of Turkey’s population); six million to seven million Kurds live in Iran (about 10 percent of the population); 3.5 million to four million Kurds live in Iraq (about 23 percent of the population), and 1.5 million live in Syria (of whom some 200,000-300,000 are arbitrarily deprived of Syrian citizenship, prohibited from working in the public sector, and considered foreigners.) There are also Kurdish communities in Lebanon and Armenia. Kurds in the former Soviet Union are said to number some 500,000. They also live in Europe and the United States. Before World War I, the Kurds led a nomadic life. Afterwards, the Kurds were promised an independent state by the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, but in the end they found themselves divided among Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. The Kurds were generally treated with suspicion and pressured to conform to majority ways. Baghdad granted the Kurds language rights and self rule in 1970, but the deal ultimately broke down. Clashes broke out in 1974, and 130,000 Kurds were forced into Iran. Iraqi attacks on the Kurds continued throughout the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), culminating in poison-gas attacks on Kurdish villages to crush resistance. The capture and execution of male Kurds plus the gassing cost about 200,000 lives in 1988 alone. In 1991, after the Persian Gulf War, northern Iraq's Kurdish area came under international protection. This came after another Kurdish uprising against Iraqi rule was crushed by Saddam Hussein's forces; 500,000 Kurds fled to the Iraq-Turkey border, and many more fled to Iran. In 1992, the Kurds held a general election. But the Kurds were split into two opposed groups who fought each other in a bloody war for power over northern Iraq. The Turkish government attacked its Kurdish minority in 1992, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing about two million others. Rival factions in Iraq hammered out a peace deal in 1999. Reforms were passed in 2002 and 2003 to help Turkish entrance in the European Union. These included ending the ban on private education in Kurdish and on giving children Kurdish names. The Palestinians Millions of Palestinians are not only refugees, but are stateless as well. After World War II, the British withdrew their mandate from Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. After a series of wars, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. In December 1987, a collective Palestinian popular uprising erupted against Israel in the West Bank and Gaza areas. This period of violence is known as the Intifada, or "shaking off." A process of reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians began with the Madrid Conference in 1991, and was followed by the 1993 Oslo Peace Process. However, settlement expansion, continued occupation, and resistance to these conditions stalled the Oslo process. In September 1995, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinian residents of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem chose their first popularly elected government in 1996 that included President Arafat. In 1997, the Wye River Memorandum was signed, and in 1999 direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began again. Discussions were derailed as a second Intifada broke out in September 2000 when Israeli leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. In April of 2003, the "Road Map", a plan pieced together by diplomats from the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, was greeted with cautious optimism. The peace plan quickly lost ground due to renewed violence. In December, the "Geneva Accord", a document drafted and signed by Palestinian and Israeli negotiators acting in private capacities, was put forward and received extensive international attention. Following the war in 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were displaced and became refugees in neighboring Arab States and in lands now occupied by Israel. Over the last 56 years, the number of Palestinians worldwide has grown to between an estimated eight and nine and a half million people. While the Palestinian population technically has had a state since the approval of UN General Assembly Resolution 1981 (1947), they have been unable to return to their homes. Their claim to a right of return to their homes has been disputed by Israel, often leaving them stateless. Apart from Jordan, neighboring Arab countries have not granted citizenship to Palestinian refugees, leaving four million individuals as de jure stateless persons. The legal status, social class, and standard of living of Palestinians vary enormously. The Roma Among Europe’s stateless people is some part of the region’s eight million Roma. Since they first entered Europe from the east some 500 years ago, the Roma have been persecuted. In the last century, Nazis tried to exterminate the group, and some 500,000 were killed. During the Cold War, communist governments tried to abolish the Roma identity by employing methods such as forced sterilization. In Bulgaria during the 1970s and 1980s, the government forced Roma to change their names and did not allow them to speak their language in public. While the breakup of Yugoslavia violated the rights of many ethnic groups, it also exacerbated the loss of Roma rights. They were forcibly evicted and placed in camps. Roma fled to other countries and became de facto stateless. Some are now being forced back to the republics they left years ago. They lack health care, social services, education, housing, and are unable to exercise economic and political rights, as a result of their status. Today, the EU Parliament has its first Roma deputy. Solving the problem of statelessness for these five groups involves difficult political decisions, many with international ramifications. Nevertheless, every person has the right to a nationality. Stateless populations need someone on their side. |
Nationality: A Fundamental Human Right No Right to Reside: Conditions that Create Statelessness No Country to Call Home: The Scope of Statelessness Whose Job Is It Anyway? UNHCR’s Second Mandate “Citizen,
Third Class”: Findings from RI’s Statelessness Project Global Review of Statelessness --------------- |
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Lives on Hold: The Scope of Statelessness
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