Contents List of abbreviations...............................................................................................................................................8 1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................9 1.2 Executive summary.......................................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Statelessness across the globe...................................................................................................................... 11 1.3.1 Defining ‘a stateless person’...................................................................................................................................................11 1.3.2 Causes of statelessness.......................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.3 Consequences of statelessness.......................................................................................................................................... 12 1.4 The international and regional legal framework...................................................................................... 13 2. Face of statelessness in Iceland................................................................................................................ 15 2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.1 Background................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.2 Historical background............................................................................................................................................................. 15 2.1.3 National legal framework......................................................................................................................................................16 2.1.4 Developments............................................................................................................................................................................16 2.2 A statistical overview of the stateless population in Iceland............................................................... 17 2.2.1 Specifics of the data used.................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.2 The target population...........................................................................................................................................................19 2.2.2.1 Groups covered by administrative data.............................................................................................................20 2.2.2.2 Groups not covered by administrative data................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................................................ 23 2.3 Qualitative analysis of stateless persons................................................................................................... 24 2.3.1 Specifics of the information used.................................................................................................................................... 24 2.3.2 Procedural aspects.................................................................................................................................................................. 24 2.3.3 The human face of statelessness..................................................................................................................................... 24 2.3.4. The situation of stateless children in Iceland.......................................................................................................... 25 2.3.5 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................................................26 2.4 Conclusions and recommendations............................................................................................................ 26 UNHCR REGIONAL REPRESENTATION FOR NORTHERN EUROPE , DECEMBER 2014 5