SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTH ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTH ASIA TABLE 48 TABLE 49 Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in South Asia Reported stateless population in South Asia Country Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Srilanka Total Stateless 1 ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ 0 Stateless 2 ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ Refugee 0 ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ 1 ICCPR ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 7 ICESCR ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 7 ICERD ✅ ✅ ⛔* ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 7 CRC ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 8 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 8 Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention Persons at risk of statelessness Reported stateless persons Millions of Afghans have fled Afghanistan due to wars and persecution in the country, with over 6.4 million Afghan refugees, persons in refugeelike situations or asylum-seekers globally at the end of 2022.1928 Due to loss or denial of identity documents, the children of many Afghan refugees and asylum seekers are at risk of statelessness. Further, a lack of access to identity documentation has rendered potentially millions of women in Afghanistan at risk of statelessness. A 2016 study found that 52% of women in general held no identity documentation, with this rate increasing to 75% among female IDPs.1929 In 2022, States in South Asia reported 974,443 stateless persons to UNHCR representing an increase of over 30,000 persons in the last year. 174 Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness Population In 2022, States in South Asia reported 974,443 stateless persons to UNHCR representing an increase of over 30,000 persons in the last year.1922 Bangladesh is the largest hosting country both within South Asia and the Asia-Pacific broadly with a population of 952,309 stateless persons.1923 Afghanistan, Bhutan and the Maldives did not report stateless populations in the past five years of reporting to UNHCR.1924 All other States (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) only provided statistics covering forcibly displaced (refugee) stateless populations, with no States providing figures on in situ stateless populations. UNHCR has noted that, regarding Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, ‘UNHCR has information about stateless persons but no reliable data’.1925 Known stateless populations not included in the UNHCR reporting figures include the Lhostshampa of Bhutan,1926 ethnic Bengalis and long-term Afghan refugees in Pakistan.1927 2020 (year end)1934 2021 (year end)1935 2022 (year end)1936 Afghanistan – – – – Bangladesh 854,704 866,457 918,841 952,309 Bhutan – – – – India 17,730 18,174 20,154 21,591 Maldives – – – – Nepal – – 465 452 Pakistan – – 47 55 Srilanka – – 35 36 TOTALS 872,434 884,631 939,542 974,443 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022 * Signed but not ratified ✅ ⛔ 2019 (year start)1933 Country CEDAW risk of statelessness in Pakistan due to lack of identity documentation and access to services.1937 Stateless Refugees There are a number of different populations groups in India at risk of statelessness including Tibetan and Sri Lankan refugees, ethnic minority groups living in border regions (including the Chakma, Hjong and Kutchi communities) and former Kashmiri militants.1930 Ethnic minority groups including Dalit and Madheshi communities in Nepal face issues of accessing citizenship and identity documents and are at risk of statelessness.1931 The Hazara ethnic minority community in Pakistan has previously faced discrimination in receiving passports.1932 The Gypsy (Roma) community may also be at STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) The entire reported stateless population in South Asia are stateless refugees. The UNHCR has noted that the reported populations in India (21,591) and Nepal (452) are stateless Rohingya refugees, this is not explicitly stated for the other countries in the region.1938 There has been an extensive focus on Rohingya in Bangladesh by UN bodies, academics and NGOs, specifically since their mass displacement in 2017.1939 Most of the 950,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh reside within refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, facing limited access to health and social services, education and living in conditions that have been condemned by residents, international organisations and NGOs.1940 The true scale of the Rohingya refugee population in South Asia is estimated to be thousands higher than reported figures. Human Rights Watch has estimated that Rohingya registered with UNHCR in India in 2021 (20,154) represented only half of the total population of 40,000 Rohingya refugees in India.1941 A recent statement by a spokesperson The entire reported stateless population in South Asia are stateless refugees. for the Pakistani Foreign Office suggested that as many as 400,000 Rohingya refugees may be in Pakistan (compared to the reported 47).1942 Both Rohingya and Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been excluded from efforts to provide Pakistani citizenship to stateless persons.1943 FIGURE 8 Estimate of the stateless Rohingya population versus those reported by Human Rights Watch Estimate by UNHCR Estimate by HRW 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0 Rohingyas in India Pakistan Source: ‘India: Rohingya Deported to Myanmar Face Danger’, Human Rights Watch (31 March 2022) REPORT 2024 175