In July and August 2015, UNHCR spoke to more than 250 children, young people,2 their parents and guardians, civil society and governments in seven countries: Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Italy, Jordan,3 Malaysia and Thailand,4 about the experience of childhood statelessness. It was the first time that such a comprehensive and geographically encompassing consultation on the views of stateless children and youth had ever been undertaken. It was also the first time that most of these young people had ever spoken to anyone about what it was like to be stateless. Drawing on individual testimonies collected during these consultations, this report demonstrates how statelessness can significantly impair the ability of children to learn, grow, play and lead productive and fulfilling lives. It highlights how statelessness can create insurmountable barriers that prevent access to education and adequate health care and stifles job prospects. It reveals the devastating psychological toll that statelessness can take not only on young people but also their families, communities and countries. Today, several million children are watching their childhoods slip away without the sense of belonging and protection that comes with a nationality. This is all the more startling given how robust the international human rights framework is when 4 ©UNHCR / R. ARNOLD in tro duc t i on it comes to protecting children’s rights, including the right of every child to a nationality. This right is protected under Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty ratified by 194 out of 196 countries. It is also reflected in numerous other international and regional instruments. As the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child re- S TAT E L E S S N E S S R E P O R T Consultations with stateless children and youth in Malaysia in progress. cently concluded: “[B]eing stateless as a child is generally the antithesis of the best interests of children.”5 No child needs to be stateless. Whether a child has been left stateless because of discriminatory nationality laws or other reasons, childhood statelessness is entirely preventable. Recognizing the harm that childhood statelessness inflicts, and implementing straightforward legal and practical measures to prevent it, will allow governments to ensure that children’s very real connections to their countries are recognized through the grant of nationality. 2. Up to the age of 24. 3. In Jordan, the consultations were limited to the prevention of statelessness amongst Syrian refugee children. 4. These countries were selected because of the existence of known stateless or at risk populations (Jordan), taking into account geographical diversity. 5. African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Nubian Minors v. Kenya, Decision, 22 March 2011. S TAT E L E S S N E S S R E P O R T 5