A stateless child is born every 10 minutes, UN warns

A stateless child is now born every ten minutes, the United Nations has warned.  According to the latest UN refugee agency report, the conflict in Syria and the global migrant crisis has intensified the problem. As thousands continue to risk their lives in search of a safe future for themselves and their families, children born on the dangerous journey -up to 70,000 of them per year - are deprived of medical care and have no access to education. According to the report, which will be launched in New York on Wednesday, 30 countries require national documentation from people seeking basic medical treatment. In 20 countries stateless children cannot even be offered vaccinations. In Syria, the nationality of a child is determined by the nationality of their father, however, with 25 per cent of Syrian families now fatherless, the situation is desperate indeed.

"In the short time that children get to be children, statelessness can set in stone grave problems that will haunt them throughout their childhoods and sentence them to a life of discrimination, frustration and despair," UN refugee agency chief Antonio Guterres said.

The UN refugee agency is urging all states to take steps, including allowing children to gain the nationality of the country in which they are born – if they would otherwise be stateless – and reforming laws that prevent mothers from passing their nationality to their children on an equal basis as fathers. It is also calling for universal birth registration to prevent statelessness, and the elimination of laws and practices that deny children nationality because of their ethnicity, race or religion. To learn more about #ibelong, the campaign to end statelessness and show your support for the cause, click here.