Forum réfugiés-Cosi has been working in defense of the right to seek asylum and on reception of asylum seekers and refugees in France since 1982. While statelessness is not explicitly written into our core mission, it is an issue of concern given the nexus between forced migration and statelessness. Since 2012, we’ve worked to support the essential work of the European Network on Statelessness to promote the right of all individuals to a nationality and to advocate for the full protection of stateless persons’ human rights in France.

The right to work, at least in principle, is considered a fundamental human right; it is enshrined in Article 23(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in Article 15 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. More importantly, the right to engage in decent work is also widely seen as an important factor of human dignity and self-esteem.

Statelessness seems to just happen to people, doesn’t it? Quirky circumstances of birth, unexpected conflict causing people to migrate, state boundaries changing: all contribute to the 10 million stateless individuals around the world. It is easy to forget that the decisions states make about how they treat those within their borders are a major cause of statelessness.

Hello there!

I’m glad you stopped by.

I’d like to introduce you to someone very special.

Meet Neha. She is just 12 years old. (It’s funny how we say that isn’t it? We would never say that of an adult. But with children, we tend to assume that being extraordinary or courageous or brilliant is even more special than it is in an adult.)