WHY are people stateless in Europe? STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE MAY OCCUR FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. A large number of people became stateless after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and more than twenty years later, statelessness remains a concern in that part of Europe. In addition, in the states that once made up Yugoslavia, groups of people fell through the cracks created by new nationality laws and became stateless. Though many have managed to establish their nationality, members of minority groups, especially Roma, continue to face difficulties accessing the civil registration documents necessary to acquire or confirm nationality, such as birth certificates. In addition, throughout Europe, gaps in nationality legislation continue to create statelessness at birth and later in life. Although the majority of stateless persons in Europe were born in the region and are stateless in the only country they have ever known, there are also stateless migrants and refugees who have come from outside of Europe. They were either stateless before leaving their country of origin or have since become stateless. State succession THIS IS RAILYA. She is of Tatar origin and became stateless after the break-up of the Soviet Union. She ended up in France where she was granted legal status as a stateless person under France’s statelessness determination procedure. Railya acquired French nationality in 2015 after 24 years of statelessness. To learn more about Railya’s story, please see www.unhcr.org/railya and https://goo.gl/cvoHj6. © UNHCR/Benjamin Loyseau. On 7 November 2015, Railya Abulkhanova, stateless for 24 years, attends an honorary ceremony at the Villeneuve d’Ascq City Hall following her acquisition of French citizenship. 6 STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE