Attachments
This second advocacy briefing in our series on statelessness and the Ukraine crisis provides updated information and recommendations on access to protection for stateless refugees from Ukraine, including under the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD). The latest information from our members and partners suggests that urgent action is needed to ensure that stateless refugees and those at risk of statelessness from Ukraine have equal access to protection in the EU (under the Temporary Protection Directive) and in other European countries.
The briefing covers:
-
Reminder: who is affected by statelessness in Ukraine
-
Update: barriers to protection in Europe (including under the TPD)
-
Recommendations: ensuring access to protection for stateless refugees from Ukraine
1. Reminder: who is affected by statelessness in Ukraine?
Most people affected by statelessness residing in Ukraine are stateless ‘in their own country’ and
- due to their statelessness - are unable to prove their links to Ukraine or any other country through documentation. Estimates for the size of the stateless population vary significantly. In 2021, UNHCR reported 35,875 people who were stateless or had ‘undetermined nationality’, only 6,047 of whom were recorded as legally residing in Ukraine. Many tens of thousands more are thought to be at risk of statelessness including 10-20% of the Roma population and 55% of children born in nongovernment-controlled areas (NGCA) and Crimea since 2014. According to the World Bank, 999,000 people over 15 years-old reside in Ukraine without a national ID card. Although not all will be stateless, most will be unable to prove their Ukrainian citizenship through documentation and may be at increased risk of statelessness. Ukraine introduced a statelessness determination procedure in 2021 to determine who is stateless on its territory and grant them protection. By the end of 2021, only 55 people had been granted a temporary residence permit through this procedure; and more than 800 had applied and been documented with a certificate of application confirming legal stay.