The Dhaka Times Desk The global refugee crisis is becoming increasingly apparent. The number of refugees is increasing day by day due to violence, violence and discrimination. A stateless child is born every 10 minutes.
Not only that, these stateless children will also be deprived of medical care, education and future employment opportunities. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR gave this information last Tuesday. The United Nations has warned that the impact of the civil war in Syria has exacerbated the problem around the world. This information has been given in AFP news.
According to the news media, UNHCR created a report identifying some of the long-term effects of the birth of stateless children. The head of the organization, Antonio Guterres, officially presented the report last Wednesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
It shows that children in Syria can acquire citizenship only on the identity of their father. But due to the 4-year long civil war, more than 4 million people of the country have been forced to flee and seek refuge in other countries. And 25 percent of the families of these refugees are fatherless. Some of the women who fled Syria while pregnant told UN delegates that their dreams of one day returning home with their families could be dashed. This is because they cannot prove their children's citizenship without a birth certificate.
According to media reports, thousands of people have been forced to seek refuge in Europe because of the war in Syria. Many have given birth while crossing borders and after arriving in other countries. UNHCR said the 20 countries hosting the largest number of refugees. At least 70 thousand stateless children are born there every year. They said, this rate is one every 10 minutes.
Antonio Guterres, the head of the United Nations organization, said that these children will face discrimination and despair for a lifetime, starting from childhood due to the lack of citizenship. Millions of children are being deprived of their rights and protections, which can only be obtained through citizenship.
The report also states that, for example, 30 countries require proof of national identity to access basic healthcare. Again, in 20 countries, stateless children cannot even be vaccinated due to lack of identity.
Note that UNHCR has set a goal that there will be no stateless people by 2024. The organization's proposal is to ensure the rights of stateless children by reforming discriminatory laws. Wherever born, children should automatically be recognized as citizens of that country. At least 218,000 refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean into Europe last month alone (October). Thus, the number of refugees is constantly increasing.
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