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

Blog

“What do you mean by stateless?” – Arbitrary detention of stateless persons in Poland

In Poland statelessness doesn’t exist. Or so it would seem, for there are almost no official records of stateless persons. Those who are stateless…
/ Katarzyna Przybysławska, Legal Aid Centre The Haliny Nieć
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No nationality, no rights – Statelessness affecting Dominicans of Haitian descent

Two years ago the Dominican Constitutional Court judgement 168/13 deprived hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their…
/ Laura Quintana Soms, Minority Rights Group
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Using the UN Human Rights Special Procedures to address statelessness

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have not to date made as much use as they could of the United Nations (UN) Special Procedures to raise and…
/ Rachel Brett
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'Transforming Our World’ - How can we make sure no one is left behind?

In September, the leaders of the United Nations Member States will meet to adopt the global agenda for development post-2015, the document…
/ Tendayi Bloom
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Let’s talk about the army

How is the army relevant to statelessness? Conscription, a compulsory participation of citizens in their states’ military, still exists in over 60…
/ Katja Swider, University of Amsterdam
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A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness

Doctor Nazir’s pregnant wife arrived in Turkey with a one-year old and no documentation. They had fled the unbearable bombardment of their home town…
/ Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoos, Refugees International
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States as a root cause of statelessness

What is the root cause of statelessness? There are many answers to this question – conflict of nationality laws, gender discrimination, persecution…
/ Katja Swider, University of Amsterdam
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Using the UPR to address statelessness

The United Nations Human Rights Council has a system of 'Universal Periodic Review' (UPR) which covers all member states of the UN.  This means that…
/ Rachel Brett, Human Rights Adviser - Quaker UN Office, Geneva
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The right to a legal identity or the right to a legal ID?

Proposed target 16.9 of the soon-to-be-adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reads: Provide legal identity to all, including birth…
/ Laura van Waas, Co-Director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion
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Stateless persons in Iceland, rarer than the Northern Lights?

Iceland, with a population of 322,000 people, is about 1500 kilometers away from its closest neighbor on the European continent. It is a land of…
/ Cecilie Becker-Christensen Saenz Guerrero, UNHCR Regional Representation for Northern Europe, and Inge Sturkenboom, Protection Officer, UNHCR Bureau for Europe
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Hungarian Constitutional Court declares that lawful stay requirement in statelessness determination breaches international law

Until now, only lawfully staying persons could initiate a statelessness determination procedure in Hungary. After nearly eight years of struggle…
/ Gábor Gyulai, Refugee Programme Coordinator at the Hungarian Helsinki Committee
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Why Malta needs to accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions

“If I was granted citizenship now, it would be like having been inside this room for twelve years [referring to a very small and crammed counselling…
/ Sophia Soares, UNHCR