UNHCR SALUTES MOLDOVA’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT STATELESSNESS

CHISINAU, Moldova, August 29, 2011 – As the international community commemorates the 50^th anniversary tomorrow (Tuesday) of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, UNHCR salutes the Republic of Moldova’s progress as the government works towards acceding to this important international treaty.

“UNHCR is pleased that the Republic of Moldova is addressing the important needs of stateless persons as important legislation is set to go before parliament in the coming weeks,” said Peter Kessler, UNHCR representative to Moldova.

Around the world today there are millions of people who are not recognized as citizens of any country. On paper they don’t exist anywhere. They are people without a nationality. They are stateless.

There are numerous causes of statelessness, many of them entrenched in legalities, but the human consequences can be dramatic. Because stateless people are technically not citizens of any country, they are often denied basic rights and access to employment, housing, education, and health care. They may not be able to own property, open a bank account, get married legally, or register the birth of a child. Some face long periods of detention, because they cannot prove who they are or where they come from.

According to official Moldovan statistics, more than 2,000 people in this country are stateless. UNHCR is working closely with the government to resolve their plight and to address the needs of people abroad with historic ties to Moldova.

UNHCR estimates that there are up to 12 million stateless people in the world, but defining exact numbers is hugely problematic.

“These people are in desperate need of help because they live in a nightmarish legal limbo,” says António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “This makes them some of the most excluded people in the world.”

Here in Moldova, UNHCR is advocating accession to the two UN treaties on Statelessness. So far only 66 countries have ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which defines who is considered to be a “stateless person” and establishes minimum standards of treatment. Only 38 states are parties to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which provides principles and a legal framework to help states prevent statelessness.

UNHCR is organizing a global ministerial conference in Geneva next December to review efforts to address statelessness.

Legislation on accession to these two important UN treaties is currently being examined by the Moldovan government and UNHCR is promoting Moldova’s swift accession to these two Statelessness conventions. Government departments, with support from UNHCR and the European Union, are preparing relevant legislation to implement the treaties.

In the 1990s the break-up of the Soviet Union left hundreds of thousands throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia stateless, with marginalized ethnic and social groups bearing the brunt.  While most cases of statelessness have been resolved in these regions, tens of thousands of persons remain stateless or at risk of statelessness.

UNHCR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration are working to address the needs of people with historic ties to Moldova who still reside, as stateless persons, in several Central Asian countries.

An underlying theme of most stateless situations is ethnic and racial discrimination that leads to exclusion. While most Roma do have citizenship of the countries where they live, thousands continue to be stateless in various countries of Europe. UNHCR Moldova is also working with relevant authorities and NGO partners to address any the needs experienced by this group.