UNHCR and SOAS are jointly launching the photo exhibition We Belong: Global Faces of Statelessness on 24 October at Folkuniversitetet in Stockholm.
Artee, a member of the Thai Hill Tribes, received Thai nationality in 2017 after growing up stateless. Many community members of the Thai Hill Tribes have long been without nationality. © UNHCR/Roger Arnold
18-year old Tha-chaa in Malaysia dreams of becoming an architect but was suspended from school as her documents were considered insufficient. Rafael in the Philippines hopes to one day compete in regional swimming championships but cannot obtain a passport in order to travel.
From Myanmar to Madagascar, millions of people are not recognized as citizens in the countries where they were born, have grown up and live – or in any other. They are stateless. This means that they are often being denied basic rights, such as access to education and health care, which their friends and neighbors take for granted.
On 24 October, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and SOAS, the Swedish Organization Against Statelessness, are launching the photo exhibition We Belong: Global Faces of Statelessness at Folkuniversitetet in central Stockholm.
The exhibition tells the stories of 20 individuals from Kenya to the Dominican Republic who are, or until recently were, stateless. Without being recognized as citizens of any state, they are fighting for recognition and fighting for their right to belong. Some have recently been granted citizenship, whereas others are still waiting and fighting. They need our support.
The causes of statelessness are diverse. Some people are stateless because they belong to an ethnic group that is not officially recognized by the country, they live in. Others are stateless because the country where they, or their parents, were born ceased to exist. For others, statelessness is the consequence of an administrative error or discriminatory laws and regulations.
In 2014, UNHCR and partners launched the #IBelong campaign which strives towards ending statelessness by 2024. During the past eight years, the world has seen important progress, and thousands of stateless individuals have become citizens. However, more needs to be done and efforts need to be stepped up.
The exhibition can be visited free of charge. In addition, on 3 November, a public launch event for the exhibition will be held at Folkuniversitetet. The event will shine a light on the global situation of statelessness and the progress of the #IBelong campaign – as well as more specific on the situation for stateless people in Sweden. The event will also showcase the consequences of statelessness on day-to-day life of people who are stateless.
Since 2014, Sweden has made several important pledges to address statelessness and more than 37,400 formerly stateless persons have been granted Swedish citizenship. Currently, more than 24,500 people in Sweden are stateless. The Swedish Organization Against Statelessness was started in 2020 with the mission to raise awareness about statelessness in Sweden and influence policy to ensure everyone’s right to a nationality.
UNHCR recommends Sweden to implement a statelessness determination procedure in order to better identify and protect stateless persons, as well as to strengthen safeguards for children born stateless in Sweden.
The photo exhibition “We Belong: Global Faces of Statelessness” is hosted by Folkuniversitetet in Stockholm and will be on display from 24 October to 9 November. The public launch event will be held at Folkuniversitetet at 5-6 pm on Thursday, 3 November.
Kungstensgatan 45, 113 59 Stockholm
Open Mon-Thu 8am-9pm; Fri 8am-5pm; Sat-Sun 8:30am-5pm
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