Part 4: Evidence Engagement and Evidence Needs in the EMN Platform on Statelessness 4.1 Introduction to statelessness The 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as a “person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law” (UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 1954). Statelessness is a legal anomaly that denies individuals to “legally exist” (European Network on Statelessness, n.d.). Stateless individuals face difficulties in accessing fundamental rights, including human, civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights (EMN, 2023). This often results in prolonged marginalization and discrimination, with significant challenges such as lack of access to healthcare, education, property ownership, legal employment, marriage, or banking services (European Network on Statelessness, n.d.; EMN, 2023). Common causes of statelessness include state succession, discriminatory nationality laws, arbitrary deprivation of nationality, forced displacement, migration, and difficulties in obtaining civil registration documents like birth certificates (European Network on Statelessness, n.d.; EMN, 2023). In the EU, statelessness often stems from the dissolution of the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia, where redrawn borders left individuals without nationality. Minority groups, such as Romani, face barriers in acquiring documents to confirm their nationality. In addition, thousands of children are estimated to be born stateless in Europe annually due to inadequate safeguards, and migrants or asylum seekers sometimes arrive without nationality, getting stuck in legal limbo because they are missing the means to prove their statelessness (European Network on Statelessness, n.d.). The UNHCR estimated approximately 400,000 stateless individuals and people with undetermined nationality in Europe and Norway at the end of 2018. However, there is no reliable way of knowing, as not all individuals are reflected in the official statistics of EU Member States (EMN, 2023). 4.2 The EMN Platform on Statelessness In 2015, the issue of statelessness gained political attention due to the increase in the number of stateless individuals in Europe during the so-called migration crisis. As a result, addressing statelessness became a priority during the Luxembourgish Presidency of the European Union in 2015 (EMN, 2018). The Justice and Home Affairs Council Conclusion of the 4 th December 2015 tasked the EMN with the creation of a platform for exchanging good practices between Member States to address the complex issue of statelessness in the European Union (EMN, 2023), resulting in the establishment of the EMN Platform on Statelessness in May 2016 under the joint coordination of the EMN LU NCP and the European Commission (EMN, 2018). The objectives of the Platform include raising awareness of the issue of statelessness and fostering dialogue between all relevant stakeholders in the field with the intention to 1) reduce the number of stateless people, 2) enhance their protection, 3) reduce the risk of discrimination (EMN, 2018). 24