What is needed to address the impacts of COVID-19 on stateless people? The group discussed what response is needed to address the identified impacts of COVID-19 on stateless people and whether certain actors are best placed to implement or support this response. Some of the suggested responses address immediate needs, whilst others will require a long-term approach. 1. Guaranteed access to rights for stateless people Immediate response • Governments should issue emergency residency rights and temporary identity documents for stateless people and make healthcare facilities and relief services open to all, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. There should be guaranteed protection for stateless people trying to access healthcare, with confirmation that there will be no risk of arrest, detention, or deportation if they seek medical attention, and immediate suspension of all healthcare charges for migrants and wider privatisation of medical services. • Governments should provide relief, food and shelter for stateless people who are in the informal sector and would otherwise be forced to leave home to work • Local authorities should ensure stateless people living in overcrowded camps are rehoused in empty houses, apartments, or hotels and provided with targeted guidance and support. Long term response • • • • • Governments need to implement the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in practice, rather than just being signatories. Governments should provide identity documents and access to rights for those going through procedures or waiting for decisions on their status. Stateless people need to be recognised so that their right to work and other rights are recognised and implemented, and they do not face discrimination. Governments should create a shared platform to address the relationship between homelessness and statelessness, with communities as co-researchers (not research respondents) Local authorities should actively reach out and build relationships with community leaders/representatives to reassure their respective communities that they have access to care Migrant and stateless-rights organisations should join with data-rights organisations to present a united front on protections against the potential abuse of data privacy - it affects us all, not just stateless people. 2. Tackling discrimination Immediate response • • Governments should (after making healthcare facilities and relief services open to all, regardless of their nationality or immigration status), publicly reiterate existing protocols around who (everyone) has access to healthcare during this pandemic Governments should create a monitoring system to identify and report instances of discrimination among healthcare providers 3