Everything you need to know about statelessness

“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…

New report confirms the urgency for Malta to revise its detention regime

New report “Protecting Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention in Malta” published today by ENS and aditus foundation warns that widespread use…

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…

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…

'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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Statelessness determination procedure in Italy: who bears the burden of proof?

The Italian Court of Cassation has recently ruled on a case concerning the statelessness determination procedure (Court of Cassation No. 4262 of 3…

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…

Statelessness in Ireland – international obligations and national reality

Ireland has adopted a somewhat incoherent approach in matters related to international conventions.  Sometimes, Ireland will not sign or ratify a…