Thousands of stateless people given nationality in Thailand

News Stories, 1 December 2015

© UNHCR/R.Arnold
An ethnic Akha, Thida Arngee was stateless until she obtained Thai nationality four years ago.

GENEVA, Dec 1 (UNHCR) The UN Refugee Agency has welcomed an announcement by the Royal Thai Government that more than 18,000 stateless people have been granted nationality in Thailand in the last three years.

The move marks an important further step in the global campaign to end statelessness by 2024 and brings the number of stateless people in Thailand to 443,862 once the government's database is updated.

Stateless people and those at risk of statelessness in Thailand have often not registered as Thai or have lost their connection with former countries of origin. Many belong to hill tribes living in remote or border areas, and have limited access to information about their rights and nationality procedures.

"Without nationality, many say they cannot enjoy their human rights in full including the right to move freely and to own property. They have often have poor access to basic services like affordable healthcare and higher education," UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler told a news briefing in Geneva.

He added that job prospects are also constrained by restricted movements and limited education and noted that some of these challenges are outlined in UNHCR's recently-released report on the impact of statelessness on children and youth.

Acknowledging the problem, Thai authorities established a legal framework for access to nationality through the 2005 National Strategy on Administration of Legal Status and Rights of Persons and also enacted legislative changes in 2008 enhancing access to nationality for some groups long resident in Thailand.

Initiatives by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn are helping to provide greater access to nationality for school-aged children and vulnerable people. Provisions are also in place to enable people who are found not to be Thai to be considered for permanent residency, while related schemes provide a framework for access to health and education.

In recent years UNHCR has worked with the authorities to reach out to affected communities while trying to streamline the application procedure to ensure the timely processing of eligible applicants. The agency has helped to build capacity among decision makers at the district level and funded the deployment of mobile teams to remote villages. It also works to sensitize and counsel communities, assist in completing nationality applications and follow up on pending applications.

More than 10 million people are believed to be stateless around the world. UNHCR has reported figures for only 3.5 million people over 40 percent of them in Asia. UNHCR hopes that Thailand's progress in granting nationality can be a positive example to other countries in the region.

For more information on the 10-year campaign to end statelessness around the world, see http://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/.

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Stateless People

Millions of stateless people are left in a legal limbo, with limited basic rights.

Ending Statelessness

Governments resolve and prevent statelessness by taking practical steps as set out in the Global Action Plan.

UN Conventions on Statelessness

The two UN statelessness conventions are the key legal instruments in the protection of stateless people around the world.

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Action taken by states, including follow-up on pledges made at UNHCR's 2011 ministerial meeting in Geneva.

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Sign and share our Open Letter to End Statelessness by 2024.

Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention of Asylum-Seekers, Refugees, Migrants and Stateless Persons

Summary Conclusions of the first Global Roundtable on Alternatives to Detention, held in May 2011 in Geneva

Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; Its History and Interpretation

A Commentary by Nehemiah Robinson of the Institute of Jewish Affairs at the 1955 World Jewish Congress, re-printed by UNHCR's Division of International Protection in 1997

Statelessness Around the World

At least 10 million people in the world today are stateless. They are told that they don't belong anywhere. They are denied a nationality. And without one, they are denied their basic rights. From the moment they are born they are deprived of not only citizenship but, in many cases, even documentation of their birth. Many struggle throughout their lives with limited or no access to education, health care, employment, freedom of movement or sense of security. Many are unable to marry, while some people choose not to have children just to avoid passing on the stigma of statelessness. Even at the end of their lives, many stateless people are denied the dignity of a death certificate and proper burial.

The human impact of statelessness is tremendous. Generations and entire communities can be affected. But, with political will, statelessness is relatively easy to resolve. Thanks to government action, more than 4 million stateless people acquired a nationality between 2003 and 2013 or had their nationality confirmed. Between 2004 and 2014, twelve countries took steps to remove gender discrimination from their nationality laws - action that is vital to ensuring children are not left stateless if their fathers are stateless or unable to confer their nationality. Between 2011 and 2014, there were 42 accessions to the two statelessness conventions - indication of a growing consensus on the need to tackle statelessness. UNHCR's 10-year Campaign to End Statelessness seeks to give impetus to this. The campaign calls on states to take 10 actions that would bring a definitive end to this problem and the suffering it causes.

These images are available for use only to illustrate articles related to UNHCR statelessness campaign. They are not available for archiving, resale, redistribution, syndication or third party licensing, but only for one-time print/online usage. All images must be properly credited UNHCR/photographer's name

Statelessness Around the World

Statelessness in Kyrgyzstan

Two decades after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, thousands of people in former Soviet republics like Kyrgyzstan are still facing problems with citizenship. UNHCR has identified more than 20,000 stateless people in the Central Asian nation. These people are not considered as nationals under the laws of any country. While many in principle fall under the Kyrgyz citizenship law, they have not been confirmed as nationals under the existing procedures.

Most of the stateless people in Kyrgyzstan have lived there for many years, have close family links in the country and are culturally and socially well-integrated. But because they lack citizenship documents, these folk are often unable to do the things that most people take for granted, including registering a marriage or the birth of a child, travelling within Kyrgyzstan and overseas, receiving pensions or social allowances or owning property. The stateless are more vulnerable to economic hardship, prone to higher unemployment and do not enjoy full access to education and medical services.

Since independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has taken many positive steps to reduce and prevent statelessness. And UNHCR, under its statelessness mandate, has been assisting the country by providing advice on legislation and practices as well as giving technical assistance to those charged with solving citizenship problems. The refugee agency's NGO partners provide legal counselling to stateless people and assist them in their applications for citizenship.

However, statelessness in Kyrgyzstan is complex and thousands of people, mainly women and children, still face legal, administrative and financial hurdles when seeking to confirm or acquire citizenship. In 2009, with the encouragement of UNHCR, the government adopted a national action plan to prevent and reduce statelessness. In 2011, the refugee agency will help revise the plan and take concrete steps to implement it. A concerted effort by all stakeholders is needed so that statelessness does not become a lingering problem for future generations.

Statelessness in Kyrgyzstan

Statelessness in the Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, UNHCR runs programmes that benefit refugees and asylum-seekers from Haiti as well as migrants and members of their family born in the country, some of whom could be stateless or at risk of becoming stateless. Many live in bateyes, which are destitute communities on once thriving sugar cane plantations. The inhabitants have been crossing over from Haiti for decades to work in the sugar trade.

Among these initiatives, UNHCR provides legal aid, academic remedial courses and vocational training for refugees and asylum-seekers. They also support entrepreneurial initiatives and access to micro credit.

UNHCR also has an increased presence in border communities in order to promote peaceful coexistence between Dominican and Haitian populations. The UN refugee agency has found that strengthening the agricultural production capacities of both groups promotes integration and mitigates tension.

Many Haitians and Dominicans living in the dilapidated bateyes are at risk of statelessness. Stateless people are not considered as nationals by any country. This can result in them having trouble accessing and exercising basic rights, including education and medical care as well as employment, travel and housing. UNHCR aims to combat statelessness by facilitating the issuance of birth certificates for people living in the bateyes.

Statelessness in the Dominican Republic

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