2.3 Qualitative analysis of the situation of stateless persons 2.3.1 Specifics of the information used As part of this mapping, representatives of five NGOs working on statelessness were interviewed in August 2012.115 These organizations shared their views and experiences with stateless persons in Denmark, as presented in the following sections. 2.3.2 Procedural aspects Around 2012, the organization Refugees Welcome (RW) advised about 200 refugees per year, including stateless Palestinians, Rohingya, Bhutanese and stateless persons from the former Soviet Republics. RW staff explained that originally stateless Kurds from Syria in particular had faced problems in Denmark during the administrative process.116 Other stateless persons had reported problems in relation to getting a biometric registration document from their country of origin.117 RW explained that some of their experiences related to periods preceding the Danish Immigration Service’s introduction of new statelessness registration procedures in 2011-12, but they mentioned that they still came across registration problems. In their opinion, it would be an improvement if qualified interpreters could participate in the first registration of asylum-seekers carried out immediately after their arrival. Confusion due to language problems might lead to misunderstandings, for instance in relation to a question like, “Where do you come from?” According to RW, stateless asylum-seekers, like other asylum-seekers, faced economic problems, which were exacerbated after a rejection of their asylum application, when they were in a “return position.” As far as RW could judge, the provision in Section 9c(2) of the Aliens Act (on the grant of residence permits to aliens whom it has not been possible to return for at least 18 consecutive months) was used very seldom. This was considered especially to be so because of the requirement under Section 9c(2)(iii ) that “return must be considered futile.” RW was aware of two cases where stateless persons had stayed in reception centers in Denmark for 10 to 12 years. The first case concerned a stateless Kurdish family from Syria. RW has described the case in the publication “Asylum Camp Limbo.”118 Both the father and the mother had been politically active in Syria. They both fled to Turkey, where they met and married.119 Later they moved to Denmark and applied for asylum. In Denmark, they lived in a number of reception centers, during which time their two children were born, in 2002 and in 2006. Their asylum application was refused in 2003 and an appeal was refused in 2010. Their children were heavily affected by their insecure life in the centres. The parents declared their willingness to leave Denmark but ultimately, they refused to sign the necessary papers when they learned about persecution of Kurds in Syria. Neither the Syrian nor the Turkish authorities had confirmed their identity. The Syrian authorities claimed that their ID cards were forged. The husband was alleged to have come to Denmark under a false identity, which made him untrustworthy in the 115 These organizations are Refugees Welcome (‘Komitéen Flygtninge Under Jorden’), the Danish Refugee Council (‘Dansk Flygtningehjælp’), the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association (‘Dansk-Palæstinensisk Venskabsforening’), the Danish-Bhutanese culture association (‘Håndtryk og Hatemalo’, both Håndtryk and Hatemalo means ‘handshake’ in Danish and Bhutanese respectively) and the Documentation and Advisory Centre on Racial Discrimination (‘DRC: Dokumentations- og rådgivningscentret om racediskrimination’). Interviews with stateless persons were not part of the research project. 116 The viewpoints of RW were given during an interview on 13 August 2012. 117 These problems are not recognized by the asylum authorities, and may be problems which stateless asylum applicants experience themselves. 118 RW, Asylum Camp Limbo, A report about obstacles to deportation, 2011. pp. 30 and 34, available at: https://bit.ly/30RwqSJ. 119 Ibid, p. 30. UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries 37