Roundtable Discussion: Where do I belong? The Plight of Stateless Persons with a focus on Pakistan

The PHRG organised this roundtable to consider the global phenomenon of statelessness, with a focus on marginalised communities in South Asia, particularly the Bengali speaking and Bihari population in Pakistan, with contributions from the following: 

• Zainnab Makele - Senior Protection Associate, UNHCR UK, on the global phenomenon of statelessness and its impacts; 

• Tahera Hasan - Lawyer, and Founder and Director of Imkaan Welfare Association;  

• Dr. Humera Iqbal - Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Institutional Research Information Service, University College London. 

Main points: 

• Statelessness can result in a loss of identity, and a feeling of hopelessness of ever having agency – to go to school, work, travel, or ever being accepted and valued.  

• Reports have identified Bengali and Bihari communities in Pakistan as facing particular challenges in pursuing apparently legitimate citizenship claims, with many having lived in the country before the 1971 civil war which led to the creation of Bangladesh.   

• Their poverty and marginalisation are said to be, in part at least, due to their inability to obtain National Identity Cards, which could help them access better paid work, higher education, public health, and overcome social stigma. 

• While successive Governments in Pakistan have tried to address some of the bureaucratic obstacles involved, it is often at local level, particularly at National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) offices, that relevant policy and rules may not be properly followed through.    

• The Government of Pakistan is called on to, inter alia: enable Pakistani women to transmit their nationality to a foreign spouse on an equal footing with Pakistani men; ensure no one is left without a birth registration and those born on the territory obtain citizenship; recognise and restore the citizenship of all Bengali and Bihari persons forcibly registered as aliens; and, ensure staff of relevant Government departments are aware of their legal obligations to facilitate documentation and access to rights for people who are undocumented, stateless or at risk of statelessness.  

• The international community should urge the Government of Pakistan to finally address the issue of statelessness within its borders. 

The PHRG will continue to highlight the problem of statelessness globally, and its negative impacts on affected individuals and communities, and to raise specific concerns with relevant interlocutors.