UN warns: 12 million stateless people denied rights and protections
United Nations says problem is on the rise as children born to parents without citizenship. The High Commissioner for Refugees invites nations to subscribe to the two Conventions (1954 and 1961) that recognize a series of safeguards. Only 38 have signed the treaty that grants legal protections. The major problems in Asia and Africa.
Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 12 million people are stateless, in short without any citizenship or fundamental human rights. This was revealed by a report issued by the United Nations, which is calling on member states to sign the two conventions dedicated to people who do not belong to any state. The problem, they warn, is on the increase because of the many children born to parents who are stateless persons and who - like the children - are denied the principle of citizenship and other rights that are the prerogative of children around the world. The phenomenon is particularly widespread in Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), recalls that "these people are in desperate need of help" because they live "in limbo, in a legal nightmare." He adds that "in addition to the misery suffered by the people", the effects of marginalization of entire groups, it affects "many generations" creating "great suffering within societies" and, at times, becomes the "cause of conflict."
Because of their condition, stateless persons are faced with a series of problems, they are denied the right to private property, they cannot open a bank account, or register a marriage or the birth of a child. Some of them are subjected to long periods of detention, because they can not prove their identity or where they come from. Among the nations with the greatest number of people without citizenship are: Estonia, Iraq, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Syria and Thailand. To date, only 66 countries have signed the UN Convention of 1954, which guarantees minimum rights in the treatment of stateless persons, but only 38, however, recognize the 1961 Convention, which gives them a wider range of legal protections. "A very low number", laconically notes Guteress.
However, in recent months, Croatia, Panama, the Philippines and Turkmenistan have signed at least one of the two Conventions. A first step towards a more global membership as requested by UN High Commissioner. People can become stateless for a number of reasons, including the division of a nation (as in the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia) or for the birth of new nations following their liberation from colonialism (Africa and Asia). Among ethnic groups there are the stateless Rohingya of Myanmar, some hill tribes of Thailand, Roma groups in Europe and in the Bedouin of the Arab Gulf States.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), recalls that "these people are in desperate need of help" because they live "in limbo, in a legal nightmare." He adds that "in addition to the misery suffered by the people", the effects of marginalization of entire groups, it affects "many generations" creating "great suffering within societies" and, at times, becomes the "cause of conflict."
Because of their condition, stateless persons are faced with a series of problems, they are denied the right to private property, they cannot open a bank account, or register a marriage or the birth of a child. Some of them are subjected to long periods of detention, because they can not prove their identity or where they come from. Among the nations with the greatest number of people without citizenship are: Estonia, Iraq, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Syria and Thailand. To date, only 66 countries have signed the UN Convention of 1954, which guarantees minimum rights in the treatment of stateless persons, but only 38, however, recognize the 1961 Convention, which gives them a wider range of legal protections. "A very low number", laconically notes Guteress.
However, in recent months, Croatia, Panama, the Philippines and Turkmenistan have signed at least one of the two Conventions. A first step towards a more global membership as requested by UN High Commissioner. People can become stateless for a number of reasons, including the division of a nation (as in the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia) or for the birth of new nations following their liberation from colonialism (Africa and Asia). Among ethnic groups there are the stateless Rohingya of Myanmar, some hill tribes of Thailand, Roma groups in Europe and in the Bedouin of the Arab Gulf States.
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