If an asylum-seeker receives a final rejection of his or her application from the Refugee Appeals Board, the person becomes subject to removal and must leave Denmark according to a deadline stated in the decision. If a rejected asylum-seeker refuses to leave Denmark voluntarily, it is the responsibility of the North Zealand Police – National Operational Aliens Centre (UCN)92 to ensure his or her departure.93 An asylum-seeker who has received a final rejection and awaits his or her departure is registered as a “rejected asylum-seeker in return position.”94 The practice of returning rejected asylum-seekers who are stateless can be problematic, as stateless persons may not have a country to be returned to at all .95 Consequently, in practice it may not be possible to return a stateless person whose application for asylum has been refused. Despite these obstacles, each year a number of rejected stateless asylum-seekers are registered as being in a return position waiting to leave Denmark.96 The Danish Immigration Service provides historical data on the total number of rejected stateless asylum-seekers in a return position, which is outlined in Figure 17. Figure 17: Rejected stateless asylum seekers in a return position (2008 to 2016) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Stateless 20 17 17 41 48 65 68 87 96 – Stateless Palestinians 19 16 17 24 - - - - - – Other stateless 1 1 0 17 - - - - - Total in return position 665 510 844 978 1,525 1,519 1,686 1,393 1,154 Share of stateless in total 3.0% 3.3% 2.0% 4.2% 3.1% 4.3% 4.0% 6.2% 8.3% 97 Source: IS (Statistical Overview, Migration and Asylum 2011: 40, 2013: 20, 2016: 21 (Danish version))98 Rejected stateless asylum seekers in a return position, 2008-2016 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 ■ Stateless Palestinians ■ Other Statelles ■ Other (total) 92 In Danish: Udlændinge Center Nordsjælland (UCN). 93 See information on applying for asylum on New to Denmark, available at: https://bit.ly/3hID7gW. 94 The Danish Immigration Service, ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2011’ (English version), p. 40. 95 The NUC, ‘Status efter 2. halvår 2011 vedrørende arbejdet med udsendelse af afviste asylansøgere’ (Status of the second half of 2011 concerning the departure of rejected asylum-seekers), February 2012, available at: https://bit.ly/3hUtR9F. 96 Some countries abide by their duty to receive stateless persons to whom they are affiliated; for instance Lebanon, which receives stateless Palestinians who are registered in Lebanon with UNRWA. See ibid. 97 In its annual ‘Statistical Overview’ publications for 2012 and 2013, the Danish Immigration Service does not distinguish between ‘Stateless Palestinians’ and ‘Other stateless’ in data on rejected asylum seekers in return position. 98 Figures for 2014: The National Aliens Division of the National Police: Status concerning the departure of rejected asylum seekers in 2014, Status på arbejdet med udsendelse af afviste asylansøgere i 2014, p.4: https://bit.ly/330iIQc. UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries 33