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
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