Everything you need to know about statelessness

Political limbo and statelessness in Africa’s last colony

The Saharawi people have been stateless for over 40 years since Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975. Danielle Smith, Founding Director of…

Protecting the right to a nationality for children of same-sex couples in the EU – A key issue before the CJEU in V.M.A. v Stolichna Obsthina (C-490/20)

The enjoyment of LGBTIQ* rights varies across Europe. As a result, children of same-sex couples can face problems with recognition of civil status,…

#HearItFromUs: Piloting an approach to promoting the voices of people affected by statelessness in Europe

One of the European Network on Statelessness’ key priorities is to improve how we work with people affected by statelessness to inform and deliver…

Waiting for a nationality - Stateless in Spain

Meimuna, a young Sahrawi woman, had to wait three years before she was granted recognition as a stateless person. Whilst Spain’s law on asylum…

ENS and Fundacion Cepaim call for legislative reforms to improve the situation of stateless people in Spain

In a joint letter sent to the Spanish Prime Minister yesterday, ENS and Fundación Cepaim launched a campaign calling on Spain to introduce critical…

Equating the rights of stateless persons with refugees in Spain

The new law should raise the standard of protection for those applying for stateless status and equate it to Spain’s law on asylum which offers a…

ENS Interview - Nacho Hernández

ENS caught up with Nacho Hernández, Lawyer in the International Affairs Department of Fundación Cepaim, a Spain based civil society organisation and…

Even where countries in Europe recognise marriage equality, children born to same-sex families remain at risk of statelessness

Every year the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map shows that the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer people (LGBTIQ*) are still not…

Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 35th Session of the Universal Periodic Review - Spain

This submission to the 35th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in relation to statelessness in Spain was submitted by Fundacion Cepaim, the Institute…

Spain accedes to the Convention on Reduction of Statelessness

This week some good news from Spain as it formally acceded to the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. At an event hosted by the…

Child refugees without nationality - A short overview of statelessness policy and practice in Spain

Amira lived in Aleppo together with her husband and their two children when the conflict in Syria began. On several occasions, they thought about…

A ray of hope for stateless Sahrawis in Spain?

The majority of the applications for the statelessness status in Spain come from applicants of Western Saharan origin, or Sahrawis[1]. However, this…