ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Stateless person

A stateless person is someone who doesn't have a country that considers them as their own citizen. Imagine you have a group of friends who all belong to a club except for one friend who doesn't belong to any club. That friend is like a stateless person because they don't have a specific group they belong to.

Now, let's say that this friend is traveling abroad and needs a passport to move from one country to another. However, since they don't belong to any club, they don't have a passport. In the same way, a stateless person might not have access to basic things like healthcare, education, and employment opportunities because they don't have a country to claim citizenship in.

Being stateless can happen for different reasons such as discrimination, conflicts, or government policies. Imagine if your friend wanted to join another club, but all the clubs had rules against taking new members. This is similar to how some countries might have laws that make it difficult for certain groups of people to become citizens.

Overall, being stateless can be very difficult and limiting because it can make it hard to access basic rights and freedoms that most of us take for granted.