residents with “undetermined citizenship” in Lithuania. The number of residents with “undetermined” or “not indicated” citizenship reported in the Statistical Yearbooks increased to 10,600 in 2007 and 12,100 in 2011.112 However, the results from the 2011 Census show that in 2011 there were no people with a status “not indicated” or “undetermined” in Lithuania, which is inconsistent with the data reported in the Statistical Yearbook.113 It is unclear what accounts for this discrepancy. According to the Residents’ Register Agency, only those stateless persons who hold a residence permit are registered as stateless. Those described as “not indicated” or “undetermined” “can only be family members of someone in the Register but who themselves are not in possession of a document114 and have not declared a place of residence.”115 The Statistics Department, the Migration Department and other relevant institutions have told the researcher they did not know exactly who the residents with “undetermined” citizenship are.116 Some suggested that this group may consist of children under the age of 16 who have so far not obtained an identification document. Their citizenship is changed to “Lithuanian” in the datasets once they are issued a passport or a national identity card, but they are considered citizens since birth for all other purposes.117 According to the Migration Department, this practice of registration has recently been changed and now children who acquire Lithuanian citizenship by birth are registered as such. Staff at some regional migration agencies reported the number could include children whose parents are of different nationalities and have not yet decided on the nationality of the child. 2.3 Qualitative analysis of the situation of stateless persons 2.3.1 Introduction From the outset of the research, UNHCR considered that the participation of stateless persons in the identification of opportunities and challenges, and in the development of solutions to situations of statelessness is crucial. Participation of stateless persons is important in this process, not only to empower the individuals, but also to understand their situation and improve profiling. UNHCR therefore decided that participatory assessments118 should be undertaken with stateless persons, as part of the research. As previously discussed, there have been no studies undertaken as to the socio-demographic profile, human rights challenges and daily life of stateless persons in Lithuania. Coming into contact with them, however, proved to be a challenge. Initially, lawyers’ associations, international organizations and NGOs working in the area of human rights, discrimination, charity, migration and asylum were contacted and asked for referrals of stateless persons who would be willing to be interviewed. While all of them were willing to share information at their disposal, only five potential interviewees were referred through these networks. Consequently, migration and police officers were reached out to. However, due to data protection concerns, these officials felt reluctant to contact potential interviewees to ask them to participate. While expressing sympathy to the cause, many felt that in the absence of an official policy, they would be transgressing 30 112 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2011, Vilnius, 2011, p. 44. 113 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2012, Vilnius, 2012, p. 70. 114 It is unclear if the “document” referred to in this case is an identity document, such as a passport, or a residence permit. 115 Electronic correspondence with Marija Norkevičienė, Director of the Residents’ Register Agency, 25 January 2013. 116 Interview with representatives of the Statistics Department on 3 August, 2012 and the Migration Department on 7 August, 2012. 117 Information provided by the Migration Department during the interview with the researcher on 7 August 2012. 118 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Tool for Participatory Assessment in Operations, May 2006, First edition, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/462df4232.html. M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N L I T H UA N I A