two of the top three countries of origin of those seeking sanctuary in Europe – Syria and Iraq – have stateless populations and nationality laws that prevent women who give birth outside the country from passing on their nationality to their children. Hence if we are to avoid a future generation of stateless refugee children it is critical that it is properly identified and recorded where a refugee parent is stateless or unable to pass on his/her nationality in order that relevant safeguards can be applied to ensure that affected children acquire a nationality. Progress to date and further action required to address statelessness in Europe A historical lack of attention to statelessness motivated ENS to run its first dedicated region-wide campaign during 2014 which included an online petition calling on European leaders to improve the protection afforded to stateless migrants in Europe. Subsequently, in December 2015 the European Council adopted the first ever Conclusions on statelessness during the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU. Importantly, these Conclusions task the European Migration Network with setting up a dedicated platform on statelessness to help build capacity and exchange good practices. Also in late 2015, the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee published an important study with recommendations relating to the prevention of statelessness and to improved identification and protection of stateless persons in a migratory context. During 2015 and 2016, under the auspices of ENS’s #StatelessKids campaign, particular attention was paid to addressing the problem of childhood statelessness, including through events hosted by the Parliament’s Intergroup on Children’s Rights in December 2015, July 2016 and November 2016. The event in November included the formal submission of an ENS online petition (0076/2017) with over 22,000 signatures. Underpinning and galvanising all these developments is UNHCR’s Ibelong campaign, which seeks to eradicate statelessness globally within a decade. Notwithstanding this welcome progress, ENS has identified five key areas of action where the European Parliament can continue to influence and provide critical momentum for collective efforts to address statelessness: 1) Improving the identification and protection of stateless persons by encouraging Cyprus, Estonia, Malta and Poland to accede to the 1954 Statelessness Convention in accordance with the EU’s 2012 pledge ; supporting the work of the EMN’s Statelessness Platform in encouraging all EUMS to introduce dedicated statelessness determination procedures in order to properly implement their obligations towards stateless persons, including protection from arbitrary and lengthy detention; supporting ENS’ #LockedInLimbo campaign; and pushing for the improved identification of statelessness in Common European Asylum System instruments. 2) Preventing childhood statelessness (including among migrant children) by encouraging the 9 EUMS yet to accede to the 1961 Statelessness Convention to do so; encouraging necessary nationality law reform in the 14 EUMS with no or partial safeguards for otherwise stateless children born on their territory; and improving the identification of statelessness among migrant children to ensure implementation in practice. The Parliament’s Intergroup on Children’s Rights should continue its key role in working with the Commission and the Council to ensure that childhood statelessness is addressed as part of the wider EU Child Rights agenda. 3) Reducing statelessness among stateless minorities by addressing statelessness through the Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, the Roma 2020 Integration Initiative and accession negotiations with countries in the Balkans, which host large stateless Roma populations; and by also supporting efforts to reduce statelessness among other in situ stateless minority populations residing in EUMS. 4) Improving reporting and monitoring by calling for Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection to be amended to oblige EUMS to collect data on the number of stateless persons born and/or living on the territory, or living with unknown nationality. In order to coordinate and consolidate efforts to address statelessness (including to monitor progress made by the EMN Statelessness Platform as mandated by the 2015 Council Conclusions), the Parliament should ask the Commission for a biannual State of the Art Report, to be delivered for the first time in 2018. 5) Adoption of a dedicated Resolution on Statelessness by the LIBE Committee to encompass the above action areas and focus the Parliament’s ongoing work to address statelessness in Europe, and to complement the first ever Conclusions on Statelessness adopted by the European Council in December 2015. For further information: Email us at info@statelessness.eu, visit us at www.statelessness.eu or follow us at www.twitter.com/ENStatelessness