39. There is little protection on release as identification documents are not routinely provided. If removal cannot be carried out for factual reasons outside the control of the individual, the person may apply for 'tolerated stay', which is not regarded as legal stay under domestic law and does not entail the right to work.63 ISSUE 6 – The Impact of COVID-19 on Stateless Persons in Austria 40. Stateless people may also be affected by issues that have been recently reported in Austria in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include concerns around the lack of accessible and accurate information relating to COVID-19,64 and reports that people are being forced to stay in Austria's largest camp for asylum-seekers in the village of "Traiskirchen" due to entry and exit bans imposed by local authorities, thus facing a higher risk of infection.65 Stateless communities have also reported impacts on their access to rights (healthcare, shelter, work, food, education, etc.), increased discrimination and impact on their ability to access legal support and initiate or progress with legal proceedings.66 Recommendations 41. Based on the above information, the co-submitting organisations urge reviewing States to make the following recommendations to Austria: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. Establish a legal basis for the automatic acquisition of Austrian nationality at birth by children born on Austrian territory who would otherwise be stateless. Remove gender discrimination in the regulations governing the acquisition of Austrian nationality by descent. Introduce a legal definition of a stateless person into Austrian legislation in accordance with article 1 of the 1954 Convention. Withdraw reservations to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the European Convention on Nationality. Establish a fair and accessible statelessness determination procedure in line with UNHCR guidance and good practice, which provides a legal basis for granting residence and rights to people determined to be stateless. Consider statelessness as a juridically relevant fact in return and detention decisions, in order to prevent arbitrary (immigration) detention of stateless people. Not discriminate in COVID-19 responses on any grounds including nationality, documentation, or migration/residence status. Ensure that the right to a nationality and other rights of stateless people are not undermined as a result of disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic or for any other reason, and that stateless people have adequate access to information. 63 See: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/austria. DerStandard, Auch Innenressort informiert Geflüchtete unvollständig über Corona-Maßnahmen, 17 April 2020, at https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000116939500/auch-innenressort-informiert-gefluechtete-unvollstaendig-ueber-coronamassnahmen. 65 DerStandard, Wie Quarantäne von Polizei und Behörden kontrolliert wird, 21 May 2020, at https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000117612917/wie-quarantaene-von-polizei-und-behoerden-kontrolliert-wird; DerStandard, Geflüchtete wehren sich gegen Ausgangsverbot in Traiskirchen, 30 April 2020, at https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000117219054/gefluechtete-wehren-sich-gegen-ausgangsverbot-in-traiskirchen. 66 European Network on Statelessness, “Even before the pandemic, statelessness has been invisible” – Involving stateless people in Europe’s COVID-19 response, at https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/attachments/resources/COVID19%20%26%20statelessness_position%20paper_final.pdf ; In Solidarity with the Stateless – An urgent call to states, donors and other stakeholders to promote and protect the rights of stateless persons in their COVID-19 responses, at https://files.institutesi.org/Joint_Statement_in_Solidarity_with_the_Stateless.pdf. 64 10