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

statefree Blog

Battling statelessness as a community

Have you ever asked yourself if you are worthy? Am I worthy of love, worthy of this job, worthy of promotion? Am I worthy of joy? Am I worthy of…
/ Christiana Bukalo, Co-founder of Statefree & Expert by experience
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*
Assam North East, India, Harvesting, Rural women workers are plucking tender tea shoots in tea gardens Blog

Statelessness in the Asia Pacific: The birth of Nationality for All

With the increase in cases of statelessness in the Asia Pacific region and the impact of COVID-19 on stateless persons, Statelessness Network Asia…
/ Subin Mulmi, Executive Director, Nationality for All (NFA)
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)
ARC Blog

Understanding Statelessness through Country of Origin Information (COI)

Country of Origin Information (COI) is an important element in refugee status determination procedures, as it helps to evaluate whether there is a…
/ Stephanie Huber, Director of Asylum Research Centre (ARC) Foundation and Nina Murray, Head of Policy and Research, The European Network on Statelessness
Oct 2021– Melanie from UNHCR’s Geneva Office. Blog

Looking Back on 6 Years at the Helm of UNHCR’s Statelessness Section

After six years as the Chief of the Statelessness Section at UNHCR, Melanie Khanna reflects on the global efforts to end statelessness, tracing the…
/ Melanie Khanna, Outgoing Chief of the Statelessness Section at UNHCR
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
fguszrt Blog

We need to talk about the problem of citizenship

For the most part, the contemporary world is centred on the assumption that everyone has some form of citizenship. This creates problems for people…
/ Tendayi Bloom, Lecturer in Politics and International Studies, University of Birmingham, UK. Lindsey Kingston, Associate Professor of International Human Rights, Webster University, USA. Heather Steele, Deputy Academic Lead, Forum for Global Challenges
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
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
Russian passport being cut with scissors Blog

Russia’s Constitutional Court delivers questionable ruling on nationality stripping

Last month, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled that there is no lack of clarity in legal provisions that make it possible to strip a person of their…
/ Olga Abramenko, Expert at ADC Memorial
British passport cover Blog

Shamima Begum Supreme Court judgment: What are the implications for statelessness cases?

Last week, the UK Supreme Court ruled in the case of Begum v Secretary of State for the Home Department, in favour of the Secretary of State and…
/ Alison Harvey, No5 Chambers and ENS Individual Member