5. The impact of statelessness Stateless communities in Cambodia and those at risk of statelessness struggle to access basic economic, political, and social rights and face an array of disadvantages that often intersect with their socio-economic or poverty situation, including limited freedom of movement, the inability to own land, and difficulty accessing formal employment, education, health care and legal protection. Much of this has been documented in civil society79 reporting and UN treaty body findings and recommendations (see Annex). The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia even dedicated an entire section to the issue in her 2019 thematic report on the SDGs in Cambodia, identifying stateless people and specifically communities of Vietnamese descent at risk of being left behind.80 5.1. Access to education Among the most significant challenges is the widespread exclusion of stateless children of Vietnamese descent from public schooling – often extending to primary schooling – due to a lack of birth certificates.81 Thus, statelessness represents a significant and yet underappreciated barrier to inclusive and universal public education in Cambodia. The 2007 Law on Education does not stipulate that a birth certificate is required for enrolment. Yet, ministerial instructions in effect require local authorities and schools to verify the identity of the child, usually by way of a birth certificate and/or other proof of identity.82 Civil society research has persistently shown that this requirement has posed challenges for many children from families or communities without effective access to birth registration, particularly non-citizen children of Vietnamese origin.83 79 Chanrith Ang, Butmao Sourn , and Judith Kunze (2014) ‘Limbo on Earth: An Investigative Report on the Current Living Conditions and Legal Status of Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia’, Minority Rights Organization; and Mauk, Ben, ‘A People in Limbo, Many Living Entirely on the Water’ New York Times Magazine, 28 March 2018. <https://nyti.ms/2usiXnn>. 80 ‘Assessing Protection of Those at Risk of Being Left Behind’, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, UN Doc A/HRC/42/60/Add.1 (2 September 2019) paras. 4751. 81 See also Rumsby, Charlie (2022) ‘Children’s Experience and Practice of Belonging: The Realities of Integration among De Facto Stateless Vietnamese Children in Cambodia’, Positions Asia Critique 30(2): 323-352. 82 See for instance Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Directive No 45 on the ‘Opening of Public Primary Education Institutions in the Academic Year 2022-2023’, dated 5 December 2022. 23