Stateless, “Let’s give voice to the invisible”: the Italian union of those who do not have the citizenship of any State is born

ROME – It is born UNIAL’Italian Union of Stateless Persons, the first organization in Italy of stateless persons for stateless persons, which aims to improve the living conditions of thousands of people living in Italy without the citizenship of any state. In fact, it is estimated that there are about three thousand people who find themselves in this condition and who live in our country. The exact number is difficult to define precisely because of their invisibility from the institutions. The main cause of statelessness in Italy and in Europe is linked to the fact that many people did not acquire citizenship following the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: a situation that laid the foundations for the subsequent transmission of statelessness from generation to generation.

Limited access to fundamental rights. The absence of a legal identity often means that stateless people have limited access to fundamental rights, such as education, adequate medical care, social protection measures or regular employment. Undocumented stateless people find it difficult to carry out even simpler activities, which they very often take for granted, such as opening a bank account, obtaining a driver’s license or renting a house. Italy is at the forefront of the protection of stateless people, having ratified both international conventions on statelessness. It is also one of the few countries in the world to have established a procedure for determining statelessness status, however many challenges remain to ensure the effective enjoyment of the rights of people living in this condition.

The Italian Stateless Union (UNIA) was born from the will of four young people who have experienced firsthand what it means to be invisible. “We are born to fill a void: legislative, representation, knowledge and above all rights. The ambition is to become the point of reference in the dialogue with the institutions ”, explains the president of UNIA Armando Augello Cupi, who will speak today at the conference hosted by the Foreign Press Association in Rome.

Three essential points to achieve the goal:

– Promote clear and reliable information to inform both stateless persons of their rights and the public offices concerned

– Reform statelessness determination procedures to make them more accessible and efficient, in line with international standards

– Effectively facilitate the obtaining of Italian citizenship for stateless persons through, for example, the reduction of the procedure time and the exemption from the language test, combined with a flexible application of the income requirement.

UNHCR’s commitment. “The willingness of the founders of UNIA to draw on their personal experience as a resource to improve the situation of stateless people in Italy is a source of inspiration for us. We sincerely wish them good work – declared Chiara Cardoletti, represented UNHCR for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino – our commitment to end statelessness will continue in the belief that only by continuing to work in synergy with institutions and civil society will we finally be able to remove the obstacles that stateless people encounter in enjoying of their fundamental rights “.

The “Participation” project. The creation of UNIA was supported by the UNHCR Participation Program with the collaboration of INTERSOS, a project that aims to facilitate the access and active participation of refugees and stateless persons in Italian social and civil life. “Intersosthrough Participationstrongly supported the birth of UNIA. The association marks an important advance on the front of the protection of human rights in Italy. From today, stateless people are no longer invisible. Their instances will finally have a formal representation in front of the institutions ”, commented the regional director for Europe of Intersos Cesare Fermi.

The #IBELONG Campaign. Statelessness is not a phenomenon limited to our country. At least 4.3 million people without citizenship live in the world; however, the actual number of stateless people is estimated to be much higher given gaps in data collection. In 2014 UNHCRlaunched the #IBelong campaign for the elimination of statelessness, the eighth anniversary of which occurs in these days.