For us and others who have been working to get statelessness higher up the EU’s agenda, last week’s landmark hearing in the European Parliament was a significant step forwards, and an important success for the 22,000 supporters who signed the ENS StatelessKids campaign petition which was addressed during the hearing.

Just over a month since we returned from three inspiring days in Budapest discussing and deliberating with our members and allies over how to protect stateless people from arbitrary detention in Europe, it feels like an opportune moment to provide an update on where we are at with plans for our #LockedInLimbo campaign and advocacy work.

On 23 May 2017, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued a decision in the case of Noé Mskhiladze, which mandates strict judicial control and oversight over the length of the detention of stateless people, a defining moment for thousands of stateless people living in Russia who are held in detention without the prospect of their cases being resolved.

Seven years is a very long time. In the last seven years, many things have happened in my life that have shaped me in ways I cannot begin to grasp. Just as my children who were born five and two years ago created space for themselves in my life that I didn’t know existed, the passing away of friends and loved ones has left voids that cannot quite be filled.