Four years since the launch of the UNHCR’s global #IBelong campaign to end statelessness around the world, the Tavolo Apolidia, a network of nine civil society organizations working to protect stateless people and their rights within Italy, was presented in Rome.

The UNCHR manages the network, and the coalition’s first roundtable took place at the end of 2016. Tavolo Apolidia’s objective is to coordinate advocacy initiatives and talks on effective projects to improve the protection of stateless people —and to solve statelessness cases in Italy.

Thousands of stateless people in Italy

According to estimates released by Tavolo Apolidia, between 3,000 and 15,000 people are stateless or at risk of becoming stateless in Italy. ''Without a recognized immigration status, these people are forced to live on the sidelines of society and have limited access to fundamental rights,'' wrote the organizations in a statement.

Unrecognized stateless people living in Italy “face many obstacles in accessing employment, education, housing and healthcare. Even simple activities that many take for granted, like taking a state exam, signing a job contract, renting an apartment, opening a bank account, or buying a SIM card cannot be done by people who do not have a recognized immigration status.''

There are currently 732 people recognized as stateless in Italy, the organization said. In 2018, Tavolo Apolidia created an online platform in order to promote knowledge-sharing. The platform provides more updated information and useful resources for the protection of stateless people, and the resolution of statelessness cases — including useful precedent and the translation of citizenship laws from the main countries it affects.

Risk of marginalization with security decree

Although Italy, contrary to many other European countries, has procedures to identify and recognize stateless people, ''only a limited number of people are able to get recognition, often after years of waiting, due to bureaucratic obstacles or a lack of information,'' said the organization in a statement. Many unrecognized stateless people who the organizations met have, until now, been able to obtain a residency permit for humanitarian reasons. Under Italy's new decree, that could be about to change for some.

Stateless people are ''already exposed to serious vulnerabilities due to the lack of citizenship,” wrote Tavolo Apolidia. “With the elimination of such a residency permit under the security decree, these people risk being further marginalized. Here irregularly, they risk being detained or expelled, despite the fact that in many cases they were born and grew up in Italy and have no country to return to.”