The European Statelessness Network (ENS) recently launched Georgia's country profile on the Statelessness Index (index.statelessness.eu), an initiative assessing the status of statelessness across 32 European nations.
This Index assesses Georgia's legislative framework and practices in five critical areas: 1) International and regional instruments safeguarding the rights of stateless individuals, 2) Data on the stateless population, 3) Statelessness determination and status, 4) Practices of immigration detention concerning stateless individuals, 5) Existing mechanisms aimed at preventing and reducing statelessness within the country.
ENS collaborates closely with partner NGOs in each country to compile the Index. For Georgia, the organization "Rights Georgia" led this effort, with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representation in the country.
During a Webinar on March 21, 2024, Salome Jokhadze, the project coordinator of "Rights Georgia," presented Georgia's country profile within the Index to the participants of the webinar. Salome Jokhadze highlighted Georgia's progress since 2011, following the ratification of two key UN conventions on statelessness. The discussion emphasized recent strides in combating statelessness, such as streamlining the access to the procedures for determining stateless status and reducing residency requirements from 10 to 5 years for stateless persons to apply for citizenship.
"Rights Georgia" became a part of the European Network for Statelessness in 2021. This network, comprised of over 180 civil organizations and experts in 41 countries, aims to eradicate statelessness in Europe and ensure stateless persons access rights guaranteed by international norms.
Since 2020, "Rights Georgia" has offered free legal aid to stateless individuals through an ongoing UNHCR-supported project titled "Protecting and Empowering Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Humanitarian Status Holders, and Stateless Persons in Georgia."
