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*
 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
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
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
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

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
Blog

Windrush scandal exposes what may lie ahead for children born in the UK growing up without citizenship

Last year, we wrote about the many barriers to stateless children born in the UK exercising their right to register as British citizens. Those…
/ Solange Valdez-Symonds, PRCBC and Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK
Blog

Barriers to citizenship facing stateless children born in the UK

Stateless children born in the UK have a right to register as British citizens after living here for a continuous period of five years. But various…
/ Solange Valdez-Symonds, PRCBC and Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK
Blog

Norwegian Government condemns stateless children to a state of legal limbo

A new proposal by the Norwegian Government will leave children born stateless in Norway who are habitually resident without a nationality until they…
/ Marek Linha, Adviser at the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS)
Blog

Realising the right of every child to a nationality through the Convention on the Rights of the Child

When talking about how to end childhood statelessness in Europe, we often jump straight to the special standards that are contained in the 1961…
/ Laura van Waas, Co-Directory, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion
Blog

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