70,000 stateless children born each year as the result of warfare

The United Nations announced that the estimation of at least 70,000 children are born with no nationality each year – or about one every 10 minutes as the result of warfare.

U.N. refugee agency chief Antonio Guterres reported that stateless can cause children irreparable harm such as “sentence them to a life of discrimination, frustration and despair.”

The report mentioned that national documentation is required to receive fundamental medical treatment, while in 20 countries stateless children cannot even be vaccinated.

The issue is particularly serious among migrants and refugees affected by conflict, according to the report.

For instance, children can acquire nationality only through their fathers in Syria. However, the civil war left 25% of refugee families fatherless.

Pregnant women fled Syria concern that one day returning home with their families could be crushed without a birth certificate to prove that their children are Syrian.

The U.N. agency proposed to reform laws that prevent mothers from passing on nationality to their children.

It also suggested that children should automatically become nationals of the country where they are born.