Browse through our library of news, events, blogs, interviews and publications

Home Office consultation Blog

UK Home Office should seek to remove barriers faced by stateless children born in the UK rather than making it more difficult for them to acquire British citizenship

Following an online consultation on its "New Plan for Immigration", the UK Government needs to ensure that any proposed amendment to the…
/ Cynthia Orchard, ENS Individual member and Nina Murray, Head of Policy & Research at the European Network on Statelessness
Court of Justice of the European Union Blog

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,…
/ Patrícia Cabral – Legal Policy Officer, European Network on Statelessness
Children's toys Blog

A victory for human rights in Zhao v. the Netherlands (the ‘Denny case’): Nationality from birth, without exceptions

In its first-ever decision on the right to nationality, issued in late December, the UN Human Rights Committee calls on the Netherlands to enact a…
/ By Laura Bingham, Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Jelle Klaas, Public Interest Litigation Project of the International Commission of Jurists (NJCM)
Dominican Constitutional Court in virtual hearing Blog

Seizing new opportunities to address statelessness in the Dominican Republic

Following a decade of restrictive measures on migration and nationality matters, in late 2013 the Constitutional Tribunal in Santo Domingo issued a…
/ Bridget Wooding - Director, Observatory Caribbean Migrants, Dominican Republic
Atlas of the Stateless Blog

Europe: Not yet a model for the world

The Old Continent – and the European Union in particular – likes to see itself as a model of democracy and human rights. But it is home to a…
/ Chris Nash, Director of the European Network on Statelessness
Photo: Drawing of a child detained in Al-Roj camp in Syria. Blog

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity…really? Why France’s forsaken “children of ISIS”* may grow up to view the French Republic’s values differently.

There are currently an estimated 300 French children stranded in various displacement camps in Northeastern Syria. Deprivation of nationality of one…
/ Philomene Franssen, MA Candidate at the University Of London and Independent Consultant
British passport Blog

Understanding and addressing childhood statelessness in the UK: Introducing our new project

With a few notable exceptions, statelessness has so far received limited attention among child rights and migration advocates in the UK, yet figures…
/ Jessie Seal, Senior Child Rights Coordinator (UK), European Network on Statelessness
Portugal Blog

Statelessness in Portugal: law, policy and practice at a glance

In March, the Portuguese Refugee Council partnered with ENS to add a country profile page on Portugal to the Statelessness Index. Statelessness is…
/ Inês Carreirinho, Legal Protection Coordinator, Portuguese Refugee Council (CPR)
Photo: TeaMeister (flickr - Creative Commons) Blog

How far do citizenship laws in European Union Member States safeguard the children born there from statelessness?

Most European Union Member States participate in the international conventions concerning statelessness of 1954 and 1961, and have certain laws that…
/ Merve Erdilmen (Doctoral Student, Department of Political Science, McGill University) and Iseult Honohan (Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin)
Blog

Working in partnership with migration, child protection and asylum actors to ensure the right to a nationality for children in migration

In facing a global health crisis, it is as important as ever to be working together to protect the rights of all children, and to make sure that…
/ Khadija Badri, Advocacy and Engagement Officer at the European Network on Statelessness
Blog

Birthright citizenship and children born in a conflict zone

As of 1 February 2020, an amendment to the Danish citizenship act means that a child born to a Danish parent who has unlawfully entered or stays in a…
/ Eva Ersbøll – Lawyer and Senior Researcher, ENS Associate Member
Blog

The Convention on the Rights of the Child at 30: Action still needed to fulfil every child’s right to a nationality in Europe

On World Children’s Day, politicians, civil society representatives, children and others gathered at the European Parliament for a high-level…
/ Khadija Badri, Advocacy and Engagement Officer at the European Network on Statelessness