WHERE are the stateless people in Europe? nn There are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PERSONS IN EUROPE who are stateless or whose nationality is undetermined. nn The BIGGEST POPULATIONS OF STATELESS persons in Europe are in the countries that were impacted by the DISSOLUTION OF THE SOVIET UNION. nn Statelessness is a concern in South Eastern Europe where the DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA, the effects of the conflicts and the displacement in the region, as well as the lack of access to civil registration left mainly members of ethnic minority groups without a nationality. nn Although statelessness remains a hidden problem in many countries, stateless persons are found everywhere in Europe, from SCANDINAVIA to the MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES. This is Stanoje from Croatia with the mother of his child whom he cannot marry because he is stateless. © UNHCR / D. Klasnic “I cannot get married, recognize paternity of my children, visit my family. I cannot work legally, receive social welfare assistance or register for health insurance. To be without documents and a nationality is as if you never existed in this world.” Isa, a stateless person in South Eastern Europe (European Network on Statelessness) “My name is Nino, I am 19 and all my life I have lived in Georgia, but unfortunately I cannot say that I am a Georgian citizen...I am stateless. I hope that someday the window of my future will open up and I will have all the opportunities to build my life. One of the things I dream of is to return to the conservatory and continue to play the trombone. I have been playing this instrument for years, but because I am stateless, I couldn’t continue my studies at the conservatory to have a profession that I dream of. The only job which I can have with my current status is being a babysitter. Now I have to work to support my foster parents, who adopted me when I was 8 years old, after my mother passed away. It is so sad and difficult to be stateless in your country, but I know that someday I will become a citizen and I know, as I look out of that window the world is waiting for me and I am so desperate to see it.” © UNHCR / Ika Pirveli STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE 3