July 25, 08:20

There are at least 4.5 million stateless people in the world, according to estimates

Millions of individuals globally lack nationality, which results in serious consequences in their lives, impacting areas such as education, social integration, well-being, and economic opportunities.

Definition of Statelessness

A stateless person is defined as someone who is not recognized as a national citizen by any country. This condition places the person in a 'legal limbo,' causing them to lack official existence before the State. In practice, without a valid birth certificate or a national identity document, the individual has no legal recognition, preventing them from proving their identity, origin, or belonging.

Although it is estimated that there are about 4.5 million stateless people in 100 nations, specialists from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warn that the actual number could reach 15 million, given that many of these people live marginalized. Statelessness can arise from various situations, including discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, or other minorities, with most known stateless populations belonging to minority groups.

Gender discrimination is another relevant factor, as 24 countries have laws prohibiting mothers from transmitting their nationality to their children. Other causes include flaws in nationality laws or conflicts between the legislation of different countries, such as in the case of a child born in a country that requires transmission by blood, but whose parents are from a country that requires transmission by territory. The 'succession of States,' meaning the division or emergence of a new country, can also result in a large number of people without nationality.

Social and Geographical Impacts

Stateless individuals face major obstacles in accessing essential rights and services, such as health and education. Furthermore, they have difficulties performing civil acts such as marriage, voting, opening bank accounts, getting a job, owning property, or traveling. This situation makes them vulnerable to labor exploitation, human trafficking, and prolonged arbitrary detention, as there is nowhere to be deported, nor do they guarantee social or legal protection. Emotional and psychological impacts are also severe due to limited opportunities and the feeling of belonging nowhere.

The largest concentrations of stateless people are found in Asia and the Middle East. A notable example is the Rohingya in Myanmar, who were deprived of citizenship by a 1982 law. In Côte d'Ivoire, hundreds of thousands of stateless people are descendants of agricultural migrants who lost their nationality due to post-independence legal gaps. In Thailand, tens of thousands of members of mountain tribes live without civil registration. In Europe, communities of Gypsy ethnicity (Roma people) persist without a homeland, resulting from the fragmentation of states in the Balkans.

International Efforts and Solutions

The international response is based on the application of the UN Conventions of 1954 and 1961, which serve as pillars for the identification and protection of these individuals. The UN has also promoted global campaigns and alliances that have allowed more than half a million people to obtain their nationality in the last decade. In 2014, UNHCR launched the #IBelong campaign, which pressured governments for ten years to reform their nationality laws. This led several countries to implement changes, and Kyrgyzstan became a model by eliminating all known cases of statelessness in its territory.

In 2024, the UN launched the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, a platform with over 190 members, including states, international agencies, and civil society. Its objective is to monitor governmental commitments to reduce statelessness by 2030, identify and correct legal flaws that generate new cases, and combat gender, racial, and religious barriers that prevent the attribution of nationality.

Situation in Portugal

In Portugal, the Assembly of the Republic approved, on July 3rd, the new status of the stateless citizen. This status formally establishes the legal procedures for the identification, reception, and protection of people without nationality, awaiting only presidential ratification. The new regulation grants the applicant a provisional residence permit valid for six months immediately after submitting the request. After the status is granted, a temporary residence permit and a travel document for legal circulation are issued.

Additionally, the new legislation, integrated with the revised Nationality Law, ensures that stateless persons can apply for Portuguese nationality after only four years of legal residence, a period shorter than that required for other foreign citizens.

nplus1.ruJuly 21, 16:23

Over 1.3 million people died globally in traffic accidents in 2023

According to a study by the Global Burden of Disease, 50.9 million cases of traffic injuries and 1.34 million deaths were recorded worldwide in 2023. Traffic accidents are recognized as the leading cause of violent death among men aged 10 to 39 globally.

Trends in Injuries and Mortality

Analysis from 1990 to 2023 showed a 38.3 percent decrease in global age-standardized road injuries and a 32.3 percent decrease in mortality. In the Russian Federation, similar indicators decreased significantly: injuries fell by 43.8 percent, and mortality by 67.5 percent. These results were published in The Lancet Public Health.

Public Health Challenges

Despite the implementation of large-scale programs and strategies to prevent and reduce traffic injuries, target indicators have remained unmet for many decades. One of the key obstacles is the lack of sufficiently reliable global data on this type of injury.

Results of Global Epidemiological Analysis

The Global Burden of Disease collaboration conducted a comprehensive epidemiological study that provided internally consistent and comparable estimates for 375 diseases and injuries across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023. In 2023, the global rate of road injuries was 623 cases per 100,000 population. The lowest injury rate was recorded in low-income countries (446.4 cases per 100,000 people), while the highest rate was noted in high-income countries (858.1 cases per 100,000 population).

Causes and Types of Injuries

Over thirty-three years, the age-standardized rate of road injuries decreased by 38.3 percent across all income groups. The most frequent causes of injury were motor vehicle injuries (38.8 percent of the total global number), pedestrian injuries (22.7 percent), cyclist injuries (19.8 percent), and motorcyclist injuries (13.2 percent). Among types of injuries, fractures were the most common (38.1 percent), followed by minor injuries (35.3 percent); head injuries accounted for 10.4 percent.

Mortality and Years of Life Lost

In 2023, the global mortality rate from traffic accidents reached 16.1 deaths per 100,000 population. Moreover, over 90 percent of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Low-income countries recorded the highest mortality rate at 43.8 cases per 100,000 people, whereas in high-income countries, this figure was 7.5 cases per 100,000 people, which differs from the injury rates in the same group of countries.

Overall, over the last 33 years, the global age-standardized mortality rate from traffic injuries has decreased by 32.3 percent. Car accidents are responsible for 38.6 percent of road deaths, pedestrians for 29.9 percent, and motorcyclists for 23.8 percent. Traffic injuries are the leading cause of violent death among men aged 10–39 and the second most significant cause of violent death among children aged 5–9.

Situation in Russia

Losses of human life are estimated at 66.7 million lost years of life due to traffic accidents, with expected losses of working life amounting to 8.56 million, totaling 75.3 million disability-adjusted life years. In Russia in 2023, 1.37 million cases of traffic injuries were recorded, corresponding to an age-standardized rate of 987.5 cases per 100,000 people, demonstrating a 43.8 percent decrease since 1990. The age-standardized mortality rate in Russia in 2023 was 8.4 cases per 100,000 people, reflecting a 67.5 percent decrease compared to 1990.

Additional Risk Factors

Other, less obvious risk factors have been identified. For example, it was found that being diagnosed with migraines increases the probability of accidents in older people. Furthermore, in America, there is an increase in the number of traffic accident victims the day after mass shootings.

Social Media Behavior Study

A separate cross-study by American scientists showed a correlation between depression and more frequent posting on the social network X to gain likes. This relationship was confirmed in three different datasets, allowing researchers to suggest that such a behavioral pattern may be linked to mental health issues when using social media. The results of this analysis were published in JAMA Psychiatry.