Statelessness, Trauma and Mental Well-being are often at risk of statelessness. When a child’s birth is not registered, especially in the context of forced migration, where citizenship is not automatic, it may put them at risk of statelessness and trafficking.27 28 29 Indeed, international conventions may be in place but denial of rights leading to vulnerabilities are evident.30 31 The gendered nature of forced migration cannot be denied. The same can be said of access to citizenship.32 In many countries, including those affected by war (such as Syria, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo), women cannot confer citizenship to their children as easily as men can do. Moreover, mothers might not be allowed to register the birth of their children, or they may struggle to prove the children’s paternity when separated from the children’s fathers. These factors put children at risk of statelessness.33 A remarkable difference between forced migration, refugeeism and statelessness is that although a dim hope, refugees have reasonable hope that they might go back to their home countries, whereas stateless forced migrants rarely have a chance to obtain the citizenship of their former country of residence. 26 III. CONSEQUENCES OF STATELESSNESS Citizenship or nationality is the essential link between a person and the State. Thus, the consequences of statelessness are dire from social, political, and economic perspectives — with studies showing that stateless individuals are among the world’s most vulnerable groups, least known, least heard, and least visible. Being stateless not only presents legal and policy challenges for national, regional, and international law, it also creates psychosocial challenges for the individual and their families as their lives are on hold. Indeed, statelessness can mean a lifetime of hardship(s) if it remains unchallenged and unresolved. It is crucial to consider the direct and indirect impact of statelessness through a human rights lens because statelessness is associated with discrimination in accessing basic rights and it could render the person at risk of other human rights violations.34 This supports the argument that ‘when human rights are violated, the doors to creating statelessness are opened … and statelessness is at the nexus of human rights and displacement.’35 International human rights instruments accord to stateless persons equal rights to marriage, freedom of belief, expression, movement, religion, and socio-economic and cultural rights. However, huge gaps are evident in terms of guaranteed rights Ajwang’ Warria (2020) op cit note 15 6 at 12. Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo (2019) op cit note 24 1 at 19. Tharani Loganathan, Zhie Chan, Fikri Hassan, Zhen Ling Ong & Hareen Abdul Majid ‘Undocumented: An examination of legal identity and education provision for children in Malaysia’ (2022) 17(2) PLoS One, 1 at 18. 29 Ajwang’ Warria ‘Forced child marriages as a form of human trafficking’ (2017a) 79 Children and Youth Services Review 274 at 275. 30 Ajwang’ Warria ‘International and African regional instruments to protect rights of child victims of transnational trafficking’ (2017b) 12(5) Victims & Offenders 682 at 695. 31 Jacqueline Bhabha (2009) op cit note 7 410 at 422. 32 Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo (2019) op cit note 24 1 at 9. Gabor Gyulani (2019) op cit note 13 48 at 49. 33 Gabor Gyulani (2019) op cit note 13 48 at 49. 34 Ajwang’ Warria (2020) op cit note 15 6 at 12. 35 Maureen Lynch (2005) op cit note 8 1 at 4. 26 27 28 47