The biggest support for stateless persons in the southwest was provided by diaspora Roma and Roma NGOs, who through their donors and collaborators, were able to provide direct support. Lost Livelihoods: Prior to the pandemic the rates of employment within stateless communities were very low. Those who did work tended to work in the informal economy in jobs such as waste collection and the collection of plastic bottles. As a result of lockdowns, many companies and enterprises closed or operated at a reduced capacity.13 reductions in their labour force and members of redundant. Many lost their only sources of income as a result. Disrupted Education: Many Roma children cannot access education due to the inability to attend online classes. Education in Macedonia has moved online but many stateless children have no access to the internet, computers, tablets etc. STATELESSNESS AND THE RIGHT TO NATIONALITY IN NORTH MACEDONIA Deprivation of Macedonian citizenship is prohibited by Article 4 of the Constitution.14 In 2004, Macedonia adopted a new Citizenship Law.15 Accordingly, the criteria for acquiring citizenship include registered permanent residence in Macedonia at the time of independence, regular means of subsistence and at least 15 years of uninterrupted legal residence. These excessive requirements created barriers for the Roma community as they struggle to provide evidence of registration and residence. The law does however provide a safeguard against childhood statelessness, stipulating that a child who was found or born in the territory of Macedonia whose parents are unknown, have unknown citizenship or are stateless, may acquire citizenship. Despite this safeguard, the law has not been implemented consistently in practice, particularly with regard to children of Roma parents. Further, it does not safeguard against statelessness where parents cannot confer their nationality i.e. in cases of gender discriminatory nationality laws.16 In 2018, the Law on Foreigners17 was adopted which provided that former citizens of Yugoslavia who continued to live in Macedonia after 8 September 1991 may apply for permanent residence if they register their stay within three years of adoption of the law. This development thus removed the costs and obligations to renew temporary residence permits for those who lost their citizenship due to state succession. This had previously been a problem for many as the burdensome requirements resulted in breaks in legal stay in Macedonia, which in turn, affected access to naturalisation.18 52 THE CESF CONSORTIUM PROJECT This project, carried out by Bairska Svetlina, aims to unpack and document the systemic exclusions of stateless persons or those at risk of statelessness in Macedonian society in the context of COVID-19. Bairska Svetlina is functioning as a Help Desk for the Roma community, offering information and legal advice to support people with applications for government food cards, help packages by the Ministry of Labour, understanding quarantine regulations and applying for documents. The project has launched a campaign to raise awareness, share information and interviews, which function as a two-way information exchange. Data collected will be used as an advocacy tool to engage relevant stakeholders such as the government (in particular the Ministry of Justice), relevant parliamentarians including representatives of the Roma community, international organisations and hospitals to raise awareness of the issue and place statelessness on the agenda. This project is implemented by Bairska Svetlina, an NGO that works towards strengthening the capacity of Roma communities, improving their socio-economic status, developing the skills of young Roma activists, and improving their quality of education. Bairska Svetlina aims to help the Roma community based in North Macedonia to enjoy their basic human rights while working on inclusion and integration into Macedonian society. Impact Bairska Svetlina President, Remzi Medik Thus far the project has raised awareness of the needs of the stateless in North Macedonia Desk to assist members of the Roma community to address issues they are facing during the pandemic. The Roma community and institutions have recognised the role of the Help Desk in contributing to the improvement of their situation. To date, 100 families have been supplied with humanitarian packages and 50 children were gifted with New Year packages donated by the mayor of Bitola. Further, 130 families have been successfully assisted in applying for social