Browse through our library of news, events, blogs, interviews and publications. You can also access our Statelessness Index and our Statelessness Case Law Database.

Image by Omar Lopez. Blog

Are parents of foundlings really “unknown”? - Avoiding statelessness under international nationality law

In popular understanding around the world, “foundlings” are often imagined as abandoned babies found outside churches. In practice, this limited…
/ Mai Kaneko-Iwase, PhD (Law), Researcher, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, the Netherlands*
International Roma Women's Conference Blog

Spotlighting Romani women’s activism and role in addressing statelessness in Europe

This blog is part of a collaboration between the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) and Romani women activists. Here, we want to draw attention…
/ Nina Murray, Michelle Van Burik, Sonja Barbul, Ina Majka, Brisilda Taco, Alison Huyghe and Tamara Smith
Levi Meir Clancy Blog

Expert opinion: How the Netherlands, France and the UK are leaving children stranded at risk of statelessness in Iraq and Syria

Thousands of children associated with alleged ‘foreign fighters’ have been detained in Iraq and Syria since the territorial fall of the Islamic State…
/ Professor René DeGroot (Professor emeritus, Maastricht University), Philomène Franssen (Independent consultant), Alison Harvey (Barrister at No5 Chambers) and Dr Rachel Pougnet (University of Bristol)
LGBTQ+ families, surrogacy and the legal identity of unsanctioned babies Blog

The Statelessness Case Law Database: LGBTQ+ families, surrogacy and the legal identity of unsanctioned babies

The new ENS Statelessness Case Law Database offers a lens through which we can observe how European laws deal with the reality of statelessness. In…
/ Katja Swider ENS Member, Assistant Professor of Migration Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Collaboration between academics and non-profits can help protect citizenship rights Blog

Collaboration between academics and non-profits can help protect citizenship rights

Building bridges between academia and non-profit organisations through partnerships is a critical tool to protect the ‘right to have rights’. These…
/ Dr Rachel Pougnet, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol
Photo by Michał Bożek on Unsplash Blog

A missed opportunity to address childhood statelessness in Poland

One of the most devastating characteristics of statelessness is that it affects millions of children across the globe. In countries like Poland,…
/ Katarzyna Przybysławska, Legal Aid Center - Halina Niec
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)