2022 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 4(1) alone.29 Those deemed stateless include members of minority populations already considered stateless, such as some Kurds or Palestinians; a driver for why people seek asylum in the first instance. 30 Countries in Europe also have legislative gaps and variations in implementation practices to support those who are on the move and stateless, or to protect children who are in danger of becoming stateless because their parents are on the move.31 While a signatory to the 1954 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons,32 there is no statelessness determination procedure in Greece. 33 The reality of what happens on the ground when children are born stateless in Greece is also unclear, despite comprehensive guidance in national law to uphold the right to a nationality. 34 As noted by UNHCR, ‘statelessness is often caused by States’ deliberate policies not to confer nationality to children born to refugees’.35 In the case of Greece, a lack of parental identity documents may result in families being unable to register the birth of their children. If children are also unable to secure their parents’ citizenship by descent, they are left de jure stateless.36 Furthermore, access to education, including preschool education, is dependent on the production of a birth certificate; while birth registration processes often depend on verification by medical services, with fines imposed if registration is not undertaken within 10 days of birth — an issue for families without knowledge of the Greek system or language.37 Refugee Trauma Initiative (‘RTI’), now known as Amna, was founded in 2016 in response to 13,000 Syrian refugees becoming stranded in Idomeni, northern Greece, having crossed the border from Turkey. 38 Caught by the agreement between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016 to return arrivals, and by the closure of national borders across Europe, people were left in limbo in Greece. RTI established activities for refugee children, young people, women and men in a tent in Idomeni; a safe haven for those who had experienced loss, violence and displacement. It is perhaps not surprising that refugee parents participating in RTI’s sessions frequently reported depression, anxiety and flashbacks to the conflicts that they 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 ‘Statelessness and Refugees in Greece’, Stateless Journeys (Web Page) <https://statelessjourneys.org/resources/statelessness-and-refugees-in-greece> (‘Stateless Journeys: Greece’). See generally Susan Musarrat Akram, ‘The Search for Protection for Stateless Refugees in the Middle East: Palestinians and Kurds in Lebanon and Jordan’ (2018) 30(3) International Journal of Refugee Law 407. See Inge Sturkenboom and Laura van Waas, ‘How Real Is the Risk of a “Stateless Generation” in Europe?: Reflections on How to Fulfil the Right to a Nationality for Children Born to Refugee and Migrant Parents in the European Union’ in Olivier Vonk and Susan Rutten (eds), Grootboek: Liber Amicorum Prof Mr Gerard-René de Groot (Wolters Kluwer 2016) 373. Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, adopted 28 September 1954, 360 UNTS 117 (entered into force 6 June 1960). ‘Stateless Journeys: Greece’ (n 29). See Mariangela Veikou, ‘Back to Basics: Stateless Women and Children in Greece’ (2017) 19(5) Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 557. UNHCR, Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care (Report, 1994) 104. ‘Greece’, Statelessness Index (Web Page, March 2021) <https://index.statelessness.eu/ country/greece>. ‘Stateless Journeys: Greece’ (n 29). ‘About Us’, Refugee Trauma Initiative (Web Page) <https://www.refugeetrauma.org/aboutus>. See also ‘About Us’, Amna (Web Page) <https://amna.org/about-us/>. 158