Editor’s Note: This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo at July 17 press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes a new statelessness law in Ukraine which came into effect this week. The law will give thousands of people who lack a nationality a chance to work legally, study and access healthcare among other rights and opportunities, and will ultimately provide a pathway to citizenship, once they are recognized as stateless.