International Renaissance Foundations, and the ERRC, 83% of Roma have a passport or another identity document, while the remaining 17% are undocumented.26 43) While most Roma have the right to the Ukrainian nationality under the Law, their risk of statelessness relates to their lack of documentation and the documentation requirements for birth registration. The lack of documentation among Roma is a widespread and long lasting, sometimes inter-generational issue that needs a particular attention by local and national authorities. 44) The risk of statelessness of Roma is caused by the factors affecting other groups, which have been outlined in the above sections. Yet, there are certain legal provisions that particularly affect Roma and create specific barriers to acquiring nationality. 45) Additional risks of statelessness among Roma in Ukraine and obstacles to solving their statelessness are linked to historical reasons of segregation and social exclusion by the majority community. In Ukraine, many Roma live in compact settlements, also known as ‘tabor’, which are excluded from the rest of the population. Birth at home also results in the lack of birth certificates because of the abovementioned requirement to present medical documents irrespectively of the child’s birth in or out of the hospital. The issue particularly impacts Roma living in remote rural areas. They are more likely to remain stateless as they do not have access to legal assistance to solve this problem. This also causes additional financial burdens for Roma, as travel costs are likely to be an obstacle to acquiring documentation. The situation of the Roma lacking identity documents is further aggravated by state sanctions against those who lack documentation. Furthermore, expenses, including paying a fine (for instance, for illegal stay in Ukraine, or late application for a birth certificate after the expiry of a month since the birth date); a court fee (if a person can establish his/her affiliation to the Ukrainian nationality only through a court procedure); or a fee for certain administrative services (for example, issuance of a registration certificate as a citizen of Ukraine by the State Migration Service of Ukraine) make documentation inaccessible to many Roma. 46) As a result and a consequence of marginalisation, social exclusion and poverty, the level of literacy and formal education remains very low among Roma in comparison to the rest of the Ukrainian population. This leads to barriers to completing applications and providing the required documentation, making Roma more likely to have their applications rejected. 47) Furthermore, discrimination is both a cause and a consequence of statelessness among Roma in Ukraine. Roma, along with other groups, are systematically discriminated against in Ukraine, at different levels, and on various grounds, as reported by the Office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman, as well as by UN agencies.27 In October 2016, concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the twenty-second and twenty-third periodic reports of Ukraine were published, which welcomed the positive steps undertaken by Ukraine in 26 The Conditions of the Implementation on the Roma State Policy. – 2015. – 80 p. - p. 10. - Available at: http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/files/alena/ZVIT_ROMA.pdf. (In Ukrainian.) 27 For more details, see: The Annual Report of the Ombudsman of Ukraine on Human Rights in Ukraine. – 2015. – 552 p. – Available at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/files/Dopovidi/Dopovid_2015_10b.pdf. (In Ukrainian.); The Annual Report of the Ombudsman of Ukraine on Human Rights in Ukraine. – 2016. – 537 p. – Available at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/files/Dopovidi/Dopovid_2016_final.pdf. – p. 156. (In Ukrainian.); The Сoncluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the combined twenty-second and twenty-third periodic reports of Ukraine. - CERD/C/UKR/CO/22-23. - 4 October 2016. - Available at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD%2fC%2fUKR%2fCO%2f22-23&Lang=en; Ukraine combined twenty-second to twenty-third periodic report CERD/C/UKR/22-23. – 2016. - Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20318&LangID=E#sthash.By19x2Q2.dpuf. 11