"Roma who are fleeing a conflict and many of whom may be undocumented, should be granted equal protection and safety when seeking refuge inside and outside of the country, regardless of their legal status. Undocumented Roma fleeing a conflict, including children, face additional obstacles and risks crossing the borders. Human trafficking is one of them, as discrimination and racism may increase vulnerability to trafficking during conflicts. Moreover, those Roma who reach neighboring countries risk remaining invisible in the receiving countries, without decent assistance and access to protection. Therefore, States must ensure that all those fleeing a conflict are granted equal access to security and protection, without possible discrimination." Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Challenges Facing Stateless People Displaced by the War in Ukraine, 31 March 2022 "Following Russia’s invasion, stateless people and those at risk of statelessness have encountered barriers in the country and at Ukraine’s Western borders - depending on their documentation, residence status and personal background. There have been reports of discrimination and differential treatment both at border crossings and inside neighbouring countries, despite their public commitment to welcome everyone fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Undocumented Roma, for instance, have been experiencing discrimination en route to safety both in Ukraine and bordering countries. As ENS points out, a key challenge that government officials and humanitarian actors must be aware of is that “most people affected by statelessness residing in Ukraine will not be able to prove their residence or nationality status due to the nature of statelessness”. The European Union's EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) grants protection in the EU to Ukrainian citizens, those with international protection before 24 February 2022 and stateless people - but only if they held permanent residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. Therefore, it does not include stateless people who do not hold (or cannot demonstrate) permanent residence status in Ukraine. ENS recommends that“The EU should extend eligibility for temporary protection to all stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness who are/were living in Ukraine, regardless of documentation or residence status. EU Member States should use their discretion under the TPD to extend Temporary Protection to all stateless persons and those at risk of statelessness regardless of prior residence status in Ukraine and/or ensure access to equivalent forms of protection under national law.”" Hungarian Helsinki Committee, War in Ukraine – Protection Situation in Hungary, 16 March 2022 “Consequently, the current Hungarian legislative framework leaves several groups who had to flee from Ukraine without any valid protection alternative. These include non-refugee stateless residents of Ukraine (including those under a formal statelessness determination procedure and those already received stateless status in Ukraine), undocumented persons and other third country nationals who did not have refugee status in Ukraine, but who cannot return to their country of origin for having fear of persecution or serious harm or for any other pressing legal or durable practical reason. This is at odds with Article 2 (2) of the Council Directive, which, using mandatory language, stipulates that Member States shall either apply EU law-based temporary protection or “adequate protection under their national law, in respect of stateless persons, and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, who can prove that they were legally residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on the basis of a valid permanent residence permit issued in accordance with Ukrainian law, and who are unable to return in safe and durable conditions to their country or region of origin.” European Network on Statelessness, Briefing: Stateless people and people at risk of statelessness forcibly displaced from Ukraine, 10 March 2022 76