Czechia Protection Brief: Statelessness

In 2020, UNHCR published a study called Faces of Statelessness,6 which included several recommendations. These focused on legislative change, such as incorporating the international legal definition of a stateless person in national law, ensuring access to rights for stateless persons, establishing an SDP in line with UNHCR guidance, providing a facilitated pathway to naturalization and amending the Czech citizenship act to align with the 1961 Convention). Additionally, the study emphasized the importance of training and capacity building for relevant authorities as well as improving statistical reporting on statelessness. Some of these recommendations have since been implemented. The legislation now enshrines a dedicated SDP and a definition of a stateless person in line with the 1954 Convention. However, gaps in addressing specific procedural safeguards still exist, and the scope of protection of stateless persons remains limited. Recommendations on how to address these issues are made in this protection brief.