Session 1 - Identifying and protecting stateless persons in Europe Expected outcomes Participants are invited to discuss and develop concrete technical recommendations on the aspects covered by the session. In this respect, participants will: - Discuss outstanding gaps, share challenges and practical difficulties and promote good practices; - Identify areas where member States can benefit from targeted technical support to develop and implement appropriate responses to statelessness; - Identify concrete follow-up actions by member States and where appropriate, provide further suggestions for follow-up Modalities Participants are invited to participate in the discussions as actively as possible in order to maximise the sharing of experience, national policies and practice, difficulties encountered and to provide input on issues to be addressed, either at national or international level. Each session is led by a moderator who will act as a facilitator and direct the discussions. The General Rapporteur will take note of the views expressed by participants and present concluding remarks at the end of the meeting and at the international conference on 24 September. The outcome of the discussions will be presented in the final report of the technical meeting. Pointers for discussion To facilitate the exchange of views, a few issues are highlighted below and prioritised for discussion. The question below are pointers only, participants are welcome to raise other issues they consider relevant if time allows. The topics for discussion have been regrouped under different but complementary themes. Participants may therefore be called upon to share their views on these issues from the different angles of the themes covered. Establishing and implementing statelessness determination procedures (SDPs) and procedural guarantees, including access to legal aid and assessment of evidence • What are the key obstacles to the establishment of SDPs? How can these be overcome? Based on your practical experience, how could the procedure(s) be more efficient and accessible to the concerned population across your country, particularly the dissemination of information on such procedure (s)? • Which procedural safeguards are in place in your country for stateless individuals, to ensure fairness and efficiency? Do all individuals have access to SDP, regardless of whether or not a person has already a lawful stay or residence? How and what kind of information and counselling services are provided? By whom? In what languages? Is access to legal aid available in the context of an SDP? If so, under what conditions? Is there in place a quality assurance mechanism for SDPs? 1