THE PROBLEM OF STATELESSNESS IN UKRAINE AND THE WAYS OF ADDRESSING IT official fee for issuance of some certificates, etc. In addition to administrative obstacles, the Roma’s problem, in the opinion of the representatives of surveyed organizations, also lies in Roma’s own negligent attitude to the matter of personal identity documents. According to statistical data provided by the State Migration Service Department in Zakarpatya oblast, the total number of Roma living in the oblast is more than 23,000, of which 2,051 live with no residence registration. Of them, 795 adults and 832 children have no documents. It should be pointed out that, despite the existence of numerous shortcomings in the current legislation, the practice of implementation can vary. The work of Siurte village mayor in Zakarpatya oblast is an excellent example of the way that stateless problems, in particular problems related to identity documents and civil registration, of some communities should be addressed. The population of Siurte village, according to the most recent census, is 1,898 persons including 385 persons belonging to the Roma minority. According to the mayor, he paid attention to the fact that Roma national minority members are excluded from the village’s social life and are in a vulnerable situation compared to other villagers. In 1998, Ukraine had a regular election of the Parliament and local councils. When the election process began and constituencies in Siurte were arranged, it was decided to establish a separate constituency covering the streets where Roma national minority electors lived compactly. It was done for Roma national minority members to be able to have their own nominee represent the community’s interests in the local council. Hence, Roma community members of Siurte have been represented in the local council since 1998, which allows them to uphold their interests and address the community’s urgent problems. According to Mr. Arpad, as of 1998, most of the village residents had received Ukrainian passports. However, Roma community members had no access to Ukrainian passports, because they had no residence registration. Roma lived in spontaneously built houses with no proper authorizations. Realizing the scale 29