The main countries of former habitual residence of persons considered as stateless in the asylum procedure during the years 2009 to 2011 were the following: nn Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, Gaza): 10 cases / 23 individuals; nn Syria: 14 cases / 15 individuals; nn Various other: 10 cases/ 21 individuals.65 15 asylum decisions (15 cases / 19 individuals) adopted between 2009 and 2011 in respect of persons of “unknown nationality” were reviewed. These persons were considered to have had their previous residence in various countries and areas, and included e.g. Palestinians from Gaza, Iraq and Lebanon and Kurds from Syria. 76 asylum decisions adopted between 2009 and 2011 in respect of persons recorded as “nationality not known” were reviewed. The absolute majority of these decisions, i.e. 72, concerned asylum-seekers from Kosovo. In most of these cases (51) the individuals were in a possession of some kind of identity document issued by UNMIK (often an expired or valid identity card). Others had identity documents issued by the Former Yugoslav authorities, the authorities of Serbia or Kosovo or carried no identity documents at all. In a few cases, Migri considered some members of the family, most commonly children, as nationals of Serbia or Kosovo. Statistics on return - forced or voluntary - which could have shed some further light on the profile of stateless persons who have entered Finland are not available from public sources, apart from assisted voluntary return information provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and it has not been possible to obtain such information from the authorities (Migri or Finnish Police). It is therefore not possible to present statistics on returns and the countries of return of stateless persons, persons with unknown nationality and persons whose nationality is not known. According to assisted voluntary return statistics of IOM, IOM assisted ten persons to return voluntarily from Finland to the Palestinian territories between 1 January 2010 and 31 August 2012;66 these persons were most likely stateless Palestinians.67 2.2.2.1 GROUPS COVERED BY ADMINISTRATIVE DATA The statistical overview covers three different sections: 1. Persons registered in PIS as stateless, with unknown nationality and persons whose nationality is pending clarification.68 2. Stateless persons, persons with unknown nationality and persons whose nationality is not known who are seeking asylum and who have been granted asylum or other types of residence permits in the asylum procedure.69 3. Stateless persons, persons with unknown nationality and persons whose nationality is not known who have been granted Finnish nationality.70 18 65 Stateless Palestinians from Lebanon and Iraq and other stateless persons from Estonia, Latvia, Former Soviet Union, Iran and Somalia. In some of these cases only one person in the family was stateless. 66 See: http://www.vapaaehtoinenpaluu.fi/en 67 E-mail from IOM Finland, 17 September 2012. 68 Data obtained from the Population Registration Centre and Statistics Finland, 9 October 2012. 69 Data obtained from Migri. 70 Data obtained from Migri and Statistics Finland. MAPPING STATELESSNESS IN FINL AND