2019 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 1(2) right to life tied to poverty, grossly inadequate housing and homelessness have not received the same attention. 122 Stateless persons are one such group that face deprivation of the right to life due to poverty, inadequate housing, and homelessness, due to active state persecution and more passive marginalisation. Some of these threats to the right to life stem from violations of the right to the highest attainable standard of health, while others are unique. Stateless persons experiencing homelessness or living in severely inadequate housing may experience exposure to extreme weather that jeopardises their right to life. Those living in informal settlements, where stateless persons often are forced to reside, face additional hazards such as fire from unauthorised electrical connections or landslides as their housing is built on unstable ground. 123 As noted earlier, inadequate housing can expose stateless persons to water and sanitation-related illnesses, which in extreme cases can threaten their right to life. Inadequate housing can also increase the incidence of domestic violence, which can constitute a violation of the right to life. 124 Stateless women and children may be unable to leave situations of domestic violence that threaten their lives due to a lack of community and state support, and instead be dependent on abusive male adults for both housing security and a recognised nationality. Violations of the right to adequate housing and its intersection with other human rights, such as the right to education, the highest attainable standard of health, and life, all contribute to higher rates of poverty for stateless persons. Segregation in housing or being forced to live in isolated areas without public transportation, combined with a lack of identity documents or documents proving place of residence, can severely limit access to employment and employment opportunities. A lack of services can require that stateless persons spend much of their time collecting water or firewood instead of earning income, and a lack of a nationality can contribute to stateless persons being unable to qualify for government benefits. Limited educational opportunities due to both inadequate housing and the lack of a nationality can limit future earning potential, condemning children to lifetimes of poverty. Denial of access to healthcare due to both stateless status and housing situation can force individuals to spend their lives battling illness, limiting initial options for employment and creating obstacles to maintaining steady jobs. Challenges to simply staying alive, stemming from inadequate housing and lack of a nationality, can also limit stateless persons’ opportunities for employment, which would help them escape poverty. Similar to how identities interact and have compounding effects on the enjoyment of the rights of stateless persons, violations of the right to adequate housing and the right to a nationality can interact in complex ways and be the cause of additional rights violations. SHORTCOMINGS OF THE PAST AND A LOOK TO THE FUTURE While stateless persons are generally among those most disadvantaged in societies and should thus receive some level of priority consideration in housing 122 Leilani Fahra, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, UN GAOR, 71st sess, UN Doc A/71/310 (8 August 2016) 2. 123 ibid 7. 124 ibid 10. 258