Showing posts with label CSSP54. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSSP54. Show all posts

24 July 2026

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality

Short pieces:

Counting the Votes in the Supreme Court’s Birthright Citizenship Decision (Just Security, July 2026) [text]

The Odd One Out? Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality in Nicaragua and the Regional Outlook (Globalcit Blog, June 2026) [text]

A short guide for stateless Palestinians in Europe, by stateless Palestinians in Europe (ENS Blog, July 2026) [text]

Spotlight series: Statelessness (Global Voices, July 2026) [access]
- "Drawing from our global network, this spotlight brings together diverse perspectives that explore the realities of statelessness, the systems that perpetuate it, and the movements working to dismantle it. We aim to highlight not only the challenges, but also the resilience, resistance, and visions for change emerging from affected communities worldwide."

Journal articles & book chapters:

"Discrimination Concerning Nationality in the Case Law of Judicial Bodies," Copernican Journal of Law, no. 4 (2026) [open access]
- "The focus will be on analysing the extent to which the requirements of non-discrimination and the prevention of statelessness are reflected in the case law of universal and regional judicial or quasi-judicial human rights protection bodies."

"From Last Resort to Intimidating Enforcement Tool: Denaturalization in the Trump Era," Migration Information Source, 24 June 2026 [text]

"'Geo-Cultural' Identity and Addressing Statelessness: A Critical Analysis of Rohingya Refugees in the Context of Bangladesh," IUBAT Review, vol. 9, no. 1 (2026) [open access]

"Menores extranjeros en riesgo de apatridia," Derechos y libertades: Revista de Filosofía del Derecho y derechos humanos, vol. 54 (2026) [open access]

"Persuading to Ratify: A Calculus of the Ratification of the Statelessness Convention in Asia," Chapter in Statelessness in Asia (Cambridge University Press, Dec. 2024; posted July 2026) [preprint]
- Focuses on the Philippines.

Related posts:

09 December 2024

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 1

Opportunities:

UNHCR and NANSEN Study Day on Statelessness, Brussels, 19 December 2024 [info]

Webinar: Statelessness Remedies, 21 January 2025 [info]
- Focuses on the UK. Organized by ILPA.

Short pieces:

70th Anniversary of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (UNHCR, Nov. 2024) [text]
- Focuses on Serbia.

Birthright Citizenship and Undocumented Immigrants (Just Security Blog, Nov. 2024) [text]
- Focuses on the US. See also related post on The Conversation.

Launch of the Global Statelessness Fund (ISI, Dec. 2024) [text]

A life-changing experience: reflecting on the "Statelessness in Scotland” workshop in Edinburgh (ENS Blog, Dec. 2024) [text]

"Stripped of citizenship, these Nicaraguans live in limbo scattered across the world," AP News, 29 Nov. 2024 [text]

UNHCR applauds Turkmenistan for resolving statelessness (UNHCR, Nov. 2024) [text]

UNHCR, EU pledge continued support as thousands of returning South Sudanese refugees receive ID cards (UNHCR, Nov. 2024) [text]

Multimedia:

Citizens of Nowhere: Statelessness and the quest to belong, 21 Nov. 2024 [access]

Conférence sur l’apatridie, Paris, 5 Dec. 2024 [access]

Taller sobre Derecho a la Nacionalidad y ciudadanía legal en Uruguay, Montevideo, 19 Nov. 2024 [access]
- See also related UNHCR news story.

Related posts:

11 July 2024

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality

Opportunities:

Seminar: Statelessness and the Risk of Genocide, Canberra, 25 July 2024 [info]

CFP:  Doctoral Workshop on Statelessness, Melbourne, 3-4 March 2025 [info]
- Submit abstracts by 31 July 2024.

Call for registration: 13th Online Course on Statelessness in English, 10 September-3 October 2024 [info]
- Register by 12 August 2024.

Short pieces:

Centring the Lived Experience of Stateless People in Legal Education (CSS Blog, June 2024) [text]
- Focuses on Australia.

Every Child Must Have Legal Status  (UNICEF Blog, June 2024) [text]
- Focuses on Thailand.

Five key takeaways on statelessness from UNHCR’s Global NGO Consultations (ENS Editorial, June 2024) [text]

For Africa’s Nomads, Refugees, and Political Exiles, a Champion of Belonging (TuftsNow, June 2024) [text]

Japan grants US$5.5M aid to improve access to birth registration of marginalized populations in BARMM (UNHCR, June 2024) [text]
- Focuses on the Philippines.

Mutual recognition of parenthood across the EU could prevent statelessness (ENS Blog, June 2024) [text]

Recognising the Invisible: Understanding Statelessness in Asia (Waseda Univ., June 2024) [text]

Stateless persons of Palestinian origin registered with UNRWA should, in principle, be granted refugee status if UNRWA’s protection or assistance is considered to have ceased (Court of Justice of the EU, June 2024) [text]

States Party to the Statelessness Conventions (Refworld, June 2024) [access]

*Using the law to end statelessness (ENS Editorial, July 2024) [text]

Reports & journal articles:

2024 World Conference on Statelessness: Setting a Shared Agenda for the Statelessness Field - Key Takeaways (ISI et al., June 2024) [text]
- See also related synthesis report. Visit the conference page for other highlights.

Ensuring birth registration for the prevention of statelessness (UNHCR, Jan. 2024) [text]

"India's Citizenship Amendment Act: Bigotry Triumphs Over Empathy," Routed Magazine (May 2024)[text]

"Problems and prospects for reducing statelessness in the Republic of Kazakhstan," Bulletin of the Karaganda University 'Law Series', vol. 29, no. 2 (2024) [open access]

"The Right to Have Rights or the Right to Have Life? An Assessment of Proactive Citizenship-stripping to Fulfill the State Duty of Non-Refoulement," Pace International Law Review, vol. 36, no. 2 (2024) [full-text]

"Statelessness–the Root Cause of the Rohingya Crisis–Needs to Be Addressed," Chapter in The Accountability, Politics and Humanitarian Toll of the Rohingya Genocide (New Lines Institute, June 2024) [text]
- Scroll to p. 23.

"Statelessness of an Ethnic Minority: The Case of Rohingya," Frontiers in Political Science, 27 June 2024 [open access]

Update on Statelessness, 90th meeting of the Standing Committee, UN Doc. No. EC/75/SC/CRP.14 (EXCOM, June 2024) [text]
- See also related presentation and the oral and written NGO statements.

*UPDATED

Related posts:

04 April 2022

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality

Opportunity:

Call for applications: 4th Online Course on Statelessness (Arabic), 6 June–1 July 2022 [info]
- Apply by 6 May 2022.

Blog posts & press:

As Parenting Changes, So Should Citizenship: Outdated Nationality Laws Risk Leaving Some Children Stateless (Human Rights Watch, Feb. 2022) [text]

Assisting stateless people trapped in Ukraine: report from the ground (ENS Blog, March 2022) [text]

The Austrian naturalisation procedure – disproportionate and in violation of international law (ENS Blog, March 2022) [text]

Can international law offer protection to those at risk of climatic statelessness? (ENS Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and statelessness on Roma women and girls (ENS Blog, March 2022) [text]

Interview with Gillian Triggs, United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees (ENS, March 2022) [text]

UNHCR lauds Philippines’ accession to 1961 statelessness convention (UNHCR, March 2022) [text]
- Note: Here is a recent infographic displaying states party to the Statelessness Conventions.

Reports & journal articles:

Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2022 (UNHCR, March 2022) [text]

"'Bidoons': A Statelessness Plight in Kuwait," Journal of Legal and Economic Studies, vol. 8, no. 1 (March 2022) [full-text]
- Note: The text of this article is in English.

Commentary to the Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, March 2022) [text]

Instrumentalising Citizenship in the Fight Against Terrorism: A Global Comparative Analysis of Legislation on Deprivation of Nationality as a Security Measure (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion & GLOBALCIT, March 2022) [text]
- See also related blog post.

"The invisibility of the invisible lives: Being stateless in Thailand in times of the COVID-19 pandemic," Routed Magazine, no. 19 (Feb. 2022) [text]

"Manufacturing Statelessness," American Journal of International Law, vol. 116, no. 2 (April 2022) [open access]

Stateless people and people at risk of statelessness forcibly displaced from Ukraine (European Network on Statelessness, March 2022) [access]
- Follow link for text of briefing in English, Polish and Ukrainian. For more information, see also this related ENS web page and ISI's April 2022 bulletin.

"Stripping foreign fighters of their citizenship: International human rights and humanitarian law considerations," International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 103, nos. 916-917 (April 2021) [open access]

The Travaux Préparatoires of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (SSRN, March 2022) [text]
- See also related blog post.

Related posts:


17 February 2022

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 1

Opportunities:

Call for applications: 3rd Online Course on Statelessness, 4-29 April 2022 [info]
- Apply by 4 March 2022.

Call for applications: 2022 Statelessness Summer Course, Online, 4-15 July 2022 [info]
- Application process is now open. The final deadline is 4 April 2022.

Blog posts & press:

The Campaign to End Statelessness: Oct.-Dec. 2021 Update (UNHCR, Oct. 2021) [text]

Caught in the storm without a boat: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stateless Persons (RLI Blog, Jan. 2022) [text]

Citizenship stripping as alternative border control: Syrian counter-perspectives (ENS Blog, Jan. 2022) [text]

From evaluation to implementation – Casting a constructively critical eye over UNHCR’s statelessness work (ENS Editorial, Feb. 2022) [text]

Is the current rights framework sufficient to protect the stateless? (Open Global Rights, Jan. 2022) [text]

Shining a Light on the Meaning and Value of Citizenship for Internally Displaced Persons (RID Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

Stateless people gain access to documentation in Russia (ENS Blog, Jan. 2022) [text]

Statelessness statistics and IROSS: The UN Statistical Commission grapples with definitions (CSS Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

Sweden needs automatic acquisition of nationality at birth for stateless children – here’s why (ENS Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

Transforming Gender Discriminatory Legal Frameworks: Reflecting on Transitional Justice as a Site for Combating Statelessness in Syria (CSS Blog, Jan. 2022) [text]

(Un)Ending Statelessness: The Unclaimed Invisibles, Failing Legal Systems and a Pandemic (RLI Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

Vicious Circles of Roma Statelessness in Serbia – A Road Map (ENS Blog, Feb. 2022) [text]

Related post:


13 January 2021

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality

Blog posts & press:

The Campaign to End Statelessness: Oct.-Dec. 2020 Update (UNHCR, Jan. 2021) [text]

Knowledge to Empower: Closing the Gap between Stateless People and Statelessness Research (Critical Statelessness Studies Blog, Dec. 2020) [text]

UNHCR welcomes Turkmenistan’s decision to grant citizenship to 2,580 stateless people (UNHCR, Dec. 2020) [text]

Will Malta’s accession to the 1954 Convention help change a culture of ‘outright exclusion’ of stateless persons? (ENS Blog, Jan. 2021) [text]

Reports:

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark (UNHCR, Nov. 2020) [text]

Statelessness: A Web Research Guide (updated Jan. 2020) [access]

Statelessness Determination in the UK: A UNHCR audit of the Home Office approach to decision-making in the Statelessness Determination Procedure (UNHCR, Dec. 2020) [text]

Understanding the Socioeconomic Conditions of the Stateless Shona Community in Kenya: Results from the 2019 Socioeconomic Survey (UNHCR & World Bank, Dec. 2020) [text]
- See also related blog post.

UNHCR Observations and Recommendations on Statelessness in the Republic of Armenia (UNHCR, Aug. 2020) [text]

Journal articles:

"Born of ISIS Genocide: Risk of Statelessness and Stigmatised Nationality Acquisition for Children of Yezidi Survivors," Rowaq Arabi, vol. 25, no. 2 (2020) [full-text]

"Human Rights and British Citizenship: The Case of Shamima Begum as Citizen to Homo Sacer," Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 12, no. 2 (July 2020) [open access]

"Identifying the Stateless in Statelessness Determination Procedures and Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Refugee Law, Advance Articles, 6 Jan. 2021 [open access]

"La problématique de l’apatridie en Afrique," Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL), no. 1 (2020) [open access]
- Scroll to p. 57.

Statelessness and Citizenship Review, vol. 2, no. 2 (2020) [open access]
- Mix of 5 articles, 3 case notes, 3 commentaries, 2 book reviews, and a symposium section on "The People in Question? Constitutional Citizenship and Its Impact on Statelessness and Citizenship Studies." 

Related posts:


30 June 2020

Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 2

Reports & journal articles: 

Access of Stateless Persons to Medical Care during the COVID-19 and Assessment of the Economic and Social Impact of the Lockdown Measures (UNHCR, May 2020) [text via ReliefWeb]
- Focuses on Ukraine.

“Even before the pandemic, statelessness has been invisible”: Involving Stateless People in Europe’s COVID-19 Response (European Network on Statelessness, May 2020) [text]
- See also related ENS blog post.

"The Most Unwanted People in the World," Mundi: Global Studies Society Undergraduate Research Journal, vol. 1, no. 1 (2020) [open access]
- Focuses on the Rohingya.

"Nationality and Statelessness among Persons of Western Saharan Origin," Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, vol. 34, no. 1 (2020) [LSE Research Online]

"Naturalisation in Context: How Nationality Laws and Procedures Shape Immigrants’ Interest and Ability to Acquire Nationality in Six European Countries," Comparative Migration Studies, 8:18 (May 2020) [open access]

The Need for Thailand to Accede to Conventions on Statelessness, Thesis (Indiana Univ., Feb. 2020) [text]

Stateless in a Global Pandemic: Impact Report (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, June 2020) [text]
- See also related briefing note.

*Statelessness and Citizenship Review, vol. 2, no. 1 (2020) [open access]
- Includes six general articles, five articles as part of a "Symposium on Statelessness and Slavery," three case notes, and two book reviews.

"Statelessness and Displaced Kashmiri Pandits," Mundi: Global Studies Society Undergraduate Research Journal, vol. 1, no. 1 (2020) [open access]

Multimedia:

Human Rights and COVID-19: What Now for the Rohingya?, 25 June 2020 [access]
- Follow link for video recording.

Stateless Last? Recognising and Addressing an Unseen Consequence of the 'Citizens First' Approach to COVID-19, Webinar, 28 May 2020 [access]
- Follow link for video recording.

*UPDATED

Related post:
Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 1 (30 June 2020)



11 May 2018

Thematic Focus: Nationality & Statelessness - Pt. 1

Opportunities:

Survey and Mapping Project on Stateless Persons in the U.S. [info]
- No deadline indicated.

CFP: Statelessness and Citizenship Review [info]
- New Open Access journal; submission deadline for inaugural issue is 1 September 2018.

Publications:

Committee on the Rights of the Child, 77th Session, 15 Jan.-2 Feb. 2018: Analysis of the Committee’s Recommendations on the Right to a Nationality, Statelessness and Birth Registration (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, 2018) [text]

"Deprivation of Nationality under Article 8 (3) of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness," Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, OnlineFirst, 19 March 2018 [free full-text]

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Member States Conclude First Regional Workshop on the Eradication of Statelessness (ICGLR & UNHCR, April 2018) [text via ReliefWeb]

"Longing to Belong: What It Means to be Stateless,” SBS News, 18 April 2018 [text]

Member States Experts Meeting on the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Specific Aspects on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 7-11 May 2018 [info]
- Follow link for overview, concept note, explanatory memo and draft protocol.

"Seeing Like the Stateless: Documentation and the Mobilities of Liminal Citizenship in Cambodia," Political Geography, vol. 62 (Jan. 2018) [free full-text]

Stateless in the States: Addressing US Statelessness (Roosevelt @MSU Blog, April 2018) [text]

UNHCR Lauds Chile as It Accedes to Both UN Conventions on Statelessness (UNHCR, April 2018) [text]

Related posts:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 1 (10 April 2018)
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness & Nationality - Pt. 2 (10 April 2018)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.

15 March 2016

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

Events:

Mobilizing for Women’s Equal Nationality Rights: Lessons Learned across Regions, NGO Side Event at 60th Commission on the Status of Women, New York, 16 March 2016 [info]

Tackling Statelessness: Exchange of Experiences and Good Practices, Luxembourg, 15 April 2016 [info]
- Registration deadline is 31 March 2016.

Nowhere People Project with Greg Constantine, Vancouver, 7 April 2016 [info]
- See also recent TED Talk.

Publications:

Asylum Policy Instruction: Statelessness and Applications for Leave to Remain, version 2.0 (UK Home Office, Feb. 2016) [text]

Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2016 (UNHCR, March 2016) [text]

First Anniversary of the Abidjan Declaration on the Eradication of Statelessness (UNHCR, Feb. 2016) [text]
- See also related UNHCR news story.

The Implementation of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Procedures and Practice in Selected EU States, Dissertation (Univ. of York, April 2015) [text]

"Migration and Statelessness: Turning the Spotlight on Malaysia," Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, vol. 23, no. S (2015) [full-text via ResearchGate]

The Need to Eradicate Statelessness of Children (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Feb. 2016 [text]

"On the Threshold of Statelessness: Palestinian Narratives of Loss and Erasure," Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 39, no. 2 (2016) [full-text via Academia.edu]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (19 Feb. 2016)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

19 February 2016

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

Event: 

Meeting: First Summit on Statelessness in Canada, Ottawa, 24 February 2016 [info]

Seminar: The Implementation of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in Selected EU States, Oxford, 25 February 2016 [info]

Publications:

Deprivation of Nationality in France: First Draft of the Constitutional Act Narrowly Approved by the National Assembly (ENS Blog, Feb. 2016) [text]

*"Human Rights under Threat: Denationalization and Dominicans of Haitian Ancestry," SAIS Review of International Affairs, Web article, 20 Feb. 2015 [text]

Impact of the Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality on the Enjoyment of the Rights of Children Concerned, and Existing Laws and Practices on Accessibility for Children to Acquire Nationality, inter alia, of the Country in Which They are Born, If They Otherwise Would be Stateless, UN Doc. No. A/HRC/31/29 (UN General Assembly, Dec. 2015) [text via Refworld]

"A privilege, not a right": Contemporary Debates on Citizenship Deprivation in Britain and France, Working Paper, no. 130 (COMPAS, 2016) [text]

The State of Statelessness in the Americas: Implementing the UNHCR Action Plan (ENS Blog, Feb. 2016) [text]

The State We're in: Ending Sexism in Nationality Law (Equality Now, Jan. 2016) [text]

"Stateless: Dominican-born Grandchildren of Haitian Undocumented Immigrants in the Dominican Republic," Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems, vol. 24 (Fall 2015) [full-text via SSRN]

Stateless Kurds and Their Multiple Diaspora , Working Paper, no. 125 (IMI, Jan. 2016) [text]

UPR 24th Session & Statelessness: Overview and Analysis (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Jan. 2016) [text]

*UPDATED

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (22 Jan. 2016)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

06 August 2015

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

Opportunities:

Volunteers sought for Statelessness Report 2016
- See calls for editorial assistants and country experts to contribute to global report on statelessness. Applications open until 31 August 2016.

Publications:

Compatibility of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons with Canada’s Legal Framework and Its International Human Rights Obligations (UNHCR, 2015) [text]

Counting the Uncountable (IRIN, July 2015) [text]

In Pursuit of Solutions for the Stateless (ENS Blog, July 2015) [text]

Let’s Talk about the Army (ENS Blog, July 2015) [text]

Nationality, Migration and Statelessness in West Africa: A Study for UNHCR and IOM (UNHCR & IOM, June 2015) [text]

Update on Statelessness, 63rd Meeting of the Standing Committee, UN Doc. No. EC/66/SC/CRP.11 (EXCOM, June 2015) [text]
 - See also related UNHCR comments.

*We Are Dominican: Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality in the Dominican Republic (Human Rights Watch, July 2015) [text]
- See also related RI blog post and Open Society fact sheet.

Why are so many Syrian Children Being Left Stateless? (openDemocracy, July 2015) [text]

*UPDATED

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (29 June 2015)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

18 August 2014

Thematic Focus: Nationality & Statelessness

Publications:

27 Countries Limit a Woman’s Ability to Pass Citizenship to her Child or Spouse (Pew Research Center, Aug. 2014) [text]

Ambiguities in the Categories of Migration, Policy Report, no. 02/06 (UNU-GCM, 2014) [text]

*"Beyond the Ethics of Admission: Stateless People, Refugee Camps and Moral Obligations," Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol. 40, no. 7 (Sept. 2014) [abstract]
- The author gave a lecture on this subject in Toronto, 13 Jan. 2013; follow the link for the video and a pre-circulated paper.

Human Rights and Support for Stateless People around the World: Japan’s Role - International Academic Conference Report, Senri Ethnological Reports, no. 118 (National Museum of Ethnology, 2014) [text]

Is the Discussion of "Statelessness" in the UN Security Council a Question of Human Security or of International Security?, Policy Report, no. 02/02 (UNU-GCM, 2014) [text]

Problematizing the Conventions on Statelessness, Policy Report, no. 02/01 (UNU-GCM, 2014) [access]

Reflections on Quasi-loss of Nationality in Comparative, International and European Perspective, Liberty & Security in Europe Paper, no. 66 (CEPS, Aug. 2014) [text]

Register Me! The UNHCR ExCom Conclusion on Civil Registration (Child Rights Connect, 2014) [access via Plan International]

Web site:

Statelessness.tv [access]
- Launched during the conference, "Statelessness and Transcontinental Migration," Barcelona, 24-25 July 2014.  Scroll to p. 29 in the conference program for more information.

*updated

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (28 July 2014)

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.

05 July 2014

News: New Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons

UNHCR has just published the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. (2014 is the 60th anniversary year of the 1954 Convention.)  Here is part of the description:
This Handbook is intended to assist governments, policy makers, administrative adjudicators, the judiciary, NGOs, legal practitioners, UNHCR staff and other actors with interpreting and applying the 1954 Convention so as to facilitate the identification and proper treatment of its beneficiaries. In addition, this Handbook will be relevant in a range of other circumstances, such as the interpretation of other international instruments that refer to, but do not define, “stateless persons”, “statelessness”, or related terms. In this respect, it is noted that the 1954 Convention has not yet attracted the same level of ratifications/accessions as the 1951 Convention and other human rights treaties. Hence, there is limited State practice, including jurisprudence of national courts, on the application of the 1954 Convention, particularly regarding the interpretation of Article 1(1).The guidance in this Handbook nevertheless considers existing practice of States party to the 1954 Convention and results from a series of expert consultations held by UNHCR.

In order to increase the number of states party to the statelessness conventions, which as the paragraph above notes is not at the same level as other human rights treaties, there has been a concerted effort over the past three years to promote ratifications and accessions.  This map provides an updated list of state parties and pledges to accede; it reflects the four countries who just acceded at a treaty event held in Geneva on 1 July 2014 - Belgium, Gambia, Georgia and Paraguay - bringing the totals for both conventions to 82 (1954) and 58 (1961), respectively.

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (27 June 2014)

Tagged Publications. 


06 March 2014

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

News:

A Campaign to End Statelessness:  Launched on the 60th Anniversary of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (UNHCR, Feb. 2014) [text]
- UNHCR is using "2014 to kick off a decade-long campaign to eradicate statelessness."

Events & opportunities:

Stateless Citizenship: The Palestinian-Arab Citizens of Israel, Toronto, 12 March 2014 [info]
- Seminar at the Centre for Refugee Studies.

Stateless but not Rightless: Improving the Protection of Stateless Persons in Europe, Strasbourg, 8 April 2014 [info]
- Registration deadline is 14 March 2014.

Reminder! Global Forum on Statelessness, The Hague, 15-17 September 2014 [info]
- Early bird registration deadline is 15 March 2014.

Conceiving Statelessness from Diaspora: The Case of Kurds in Europe, London, 19 March 2014 [info]

UNHCR Award for Statelessness Research [info]
- Submit nominations by 1 May 2014.

See also this recent funding announcement.

Publications:

"Building a Dangerous Precedent in the Americas: Revoking Fundamental Rights of Dominicans," Human Rights Brief, vol. 21, no. 1 (Winter 2014) [full-text]

Nationality Unknown? An Overview of the Safeguards and Gaps Related to the Prevention of Statelessness at Birth in Hungary (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Jan. 2014) [text via Refworld]
- See also related ENS Blog post.

New Birth Registration Procedure: Impact on the Prevention of Statelessness in Serbia (ENS Blog, Feb. 2014) [text]

The Statelessness Round Table in Central Asia, Almaty, 2-3 Oct. 2013 [info]
- See also UNHCR's Opening Remarks and the Summary Conclusions, as well as this related UNHCR news story.

Statelessness, State-building and Biopolitics: The Bidūn of Kuwait (ENS Blog, March 2014) [text]

Web site:

UNU Migration Network [access]
- This network was recently launched; follow the link for information about two of its ongoing research projects, one on "The international framework for statelessness" and the other on "Statelessness and transcontinental migration."  Relevant policy reports for these projects are available here.

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (14 Feb. 2014)

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools. 

27 January 2014

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

News:

I included a reference to the Tilburg Law Review's Special Issue on Statelessness in my last post on statelessness.  However, since then, it was announced that free access to the full-texts of all articles would be granted for one year!

UNHCR's Statelessness Unit announced on its Facebook page that Peru just acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons - the first country to do so in 2014.

Events:

The State and the Stateless: The Legacy of Hannah Arendt Reconsidered, London, 13 February 2014 [info]
- Free event, but ticket required.

Free Legal Training on New Immigration Rules on Statelessness, Leeds, UK, 19 February 2014 [info]
- Registration is on a first come-first served basis and places are limited.

Publications:

Citizenship, Statelessness, and Structural Vulnerability to HIV, Presentation at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Boston, 1-3 May 2014 [extended abstract]

ENS Submission to the European Commission Consultation on the Future of Home Affairs Policies: An Open and Safe Europe – What Next? (European Network on Statelessness, Jan. 2014) [text]

Is Citizenship the Answer? Constructions of Belonging and Exclusion for the Stateless Rohingya of Burma, Working Paper, no. 107 (COMPAS, 2013) [text]

The Problem of Statelessness in Ukraine and the Ways of Addressing It (UNHCR, 2014) [text]
- See also related ENS blog post.

Statelessness Matters 10 Years on from Al-Kateb: Statelessness in the Australian Context, Presentation at the Asian Conference on Politics, Economics and Law, Osaka, 21-24 November 2013 [info]
- Follow this link for the virtual presentation.  See also earlier related journal article.

Taking Suffering Seriously: A Robust Approach to Enforcing the Right to Nationality of Stateless People, Thesis (University of Saskatchewan, Dec. 2013) [text]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (17 Jan. 2014)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 


17 January 2014

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

Events & opportunities:

Global Forum on Statelessness, The Hague, 15-17 September 2014 [info]
- Registration is now open!

Statelessness Programme Summer Course, Tilburg, Neth., 4-8 August 2014 [info]
- This course will "consider statelessness and the right to nationality from various angles. It will deal with legal and policy issues associated with statelessness. The status of stateless persons, their human rights and international protection will be addressed, as well as ways to research and document statelessness." The application deadline is 1 April 2014.

Short Course: Statelessness and International Law, Oxford, 17-18 May 2014 [info]
- No deadline indicated, but only 30 spaces are available!

Publications:

Ad-Hoc Query on Experiences in Implementing the UN Conventions on Statelessness (European Migration Network, Dec. 2013) [text]

"Challenges of Recognition, Participation, and Representation for the Legally Liminal: A Comment," Chapter 18 in Migration, Gender and Social Justice: Perspectives on Human Insecurity (Springer, 2014) [open access]
- See esp. section 18.7 for discussion of "Migrants' de Facto and Formal Statelessness."

Citizenship as Political Tool: The Recent Turmoil in the MENA and the Creation and Resolution of Statelessness (SSRN, Jan. 2014) [text]

Every Child's Birth Right: Inequities and Trends in Birth Registration (UNICEF, Dec. 2013) [text via Refworld]

"Gambia Ratifies Conventions on Stateless Persons," The Daily Observer, 12 Dec. 2013 [text via AllAfrica.com]

Lacking a Nationality, Some Refugees from Syria Face Acute Risks (UNHCR, Dec. 2013) [text]

"Special Issue on Statelessness," Tilburg Law Review, vol. 19, nos. 1-2 (2014) [contents]
- Includes 30 articles.

"Statelessness and Mass Expulsion in Sudan: A Reassessment of the International Law," Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights, vol. 12, no. 1 (Winter 2014) [open access]

Statelessness as a Rising Topic in EU External Relations: Report on the Expert Meeting on Statelessness within the Eastern Partnership Panel on Migration and Asylum (ENS Blog, Jan. 2014) [text]

Time to Put Statelessness on the EU Agenda! (ENS Blog, Dec. 2013) [text]

What Connects Tom Hanks, Osama Bin Laden and Albert Einstein? (Statelessness Programme Blog, Jan. 2014) [text]

Related post:
- Thematic Focus: Statelessness (10 Dec. 2013)

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities. 

28 September 2013

Anniversary of Stateless Persons Convention

To commemorate the anniversary of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, I am reproducing the text of a UNHCR press release announcing the "inaugural winners of the UNHCR Award for Statelessness Research."  (Note: I inserted several hyperlinks below to direct readers to supplementary information.)
"In the undergraduate category, the winner is Amanda Cheong, whose thesis "Changing Conceptions of Citizenship Among Stateless Chinese-Bruneian Immigrants in Vancouver," was nominated by the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia in Canada. 
In the graduate category, the jury named two winners. The first is Eva Mrekajová, whose Master of Laws thesis on the "Naturalization of Stateless Persons" was nominated by the Department of International and European Law at Tilburg University. The second winner is Caroline McInerney, whose independent study paper entitled "Citizenship Laws of Madagascar: Future Challenges for a Developing Nation" was nominated by the University of Virginia School of Law in the United States. No prize in the doctoral category was awarded this year. 
UNHCR and Tilburg University in the Netherlands had invited academic institutions globally to nominate outstanding pieces of research at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels in the field of statelessness. Fifteen papers were submitted. 
They were judged by a jury comprised of leading academics from around the world, working in the field of nationality and statelessness. The jury was co-chaired by UNHCR and the Statelessness Programme at Tilburg University. 
Each winner received a cash prize of €1,000. Their papers will be published in a special edition of the Tilburg Law Review. The winners will also be asked to present their research at the First Global Forum on Statelessness, which will be held in The Hague in September 2014, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Statelessness Convention. 
UNHCR has a mandate to identify and protect stateless populations and to prevent and reduce statelessness. UNHCR's governing body, the Executive Committee, has requested the Office to undertake and share research on statelessness with academic institutions and governments, to promote understanding of the problem."

Additional details about the award winners are provided in this post on the Statelessness Programme's blog.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.  

26 March 2013

Thematic Focus: Statelessness

Publications:

Innovations in Russian Legislation on Citizenship (European Network on Statelessness Blog, March 2013) [text]

Kuwait: Small Step Forward for Bidun Rights as 4,000 'Foreigners' Granted Citizenship (Amnesty International, March 2013) [text]

Reflections on Thailand (3): Is the Time Ripe for a Citizenship Campaign? (Statelessness Programme Blog, March 2013) [text]

Report on Statelessness in South Eastern Europe (UNHCR, Sept. 2011) [text]

Small Changes - Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic (UNHCR, 2010) [text]

Statelessness and Nationality in South Africa (Lawyers for Human Rights, March 2013) [text]

The Untold Dangers and Unfeasibility of a Global Registration of Stateless Persons: A Reply to Jay Milbrandt's 'Stateless' (SSRN, March 2013) [text]

Upcoming event:

The First Global Forum on Statelessness, The Hague, 15-17 September 2014 [info]
- Coincides with the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; theme is "Exploring challenges and sharing good practices in research and policy on statelessness."  See also related blog post.  Watch for a call for papers.

Tagged Publications and Events & Opportunities.  

16 October 2012

Focus: Statelessness

Publications:

Denationalisation and the Politics of Citizenship in Zimbabwe (ENS Blog, Oct. 2012) [text]

Finally an Important Step towards the Solution for the Legally Invisible and Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Serbia (ENS Blog, Oct. 2012) [text]

Recommendations Relevant to Statelessness Made during the First Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (2008-2011) (UNHCR, Sept. 2012) [text]

Stateless in Burma: Rohingya Word Wars (openDemocracy, Oct. 2012) [text]

Stateless in the United States: Current Reality and a Future Prediction (SSRN, Sept. 2012) [text]

"Statelessness in Japan: Management and Challenges," Journal of Population and Social Studies, vol. 21, no. 1 (July 2012) [full-text]

State action:

Latest accessions:  As this news story reports, "Ecuador became a party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Honduras to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and Portugal became party to both conventions."

Pledges: Maps showing accessions to the statelessness conventions and pledges for various actions relating to statelessness have been updated.  Scroll to the bottom of the State Action page to view them.

Tagged Publications. 

30 September 2012

Action on Statelessness

*(updated)

1. UNHCR's Statelessness Unit now has a Facebook page.  Two noteworthy international developments announced on the page include:

- At the recent UN High-Level Meeting on the Rule of Law, the European Union pledged that Member States who have not yet done so will "address the issue of statelessness by ratifying the 1954 Convention and by considering ratification of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness." UNHCR's Statelessness Unit noted that "Once implemented this will result in universal accession to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in the European Union."

- "Ecuador became the newest State party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness this week. Treaty actions by Portugal and Honduras are expected in the next few days. There are now 47 States parties to the Convention, up from 37 only 15 months ago. And 27 more States have pledged to accede."  To monitor progress on States fulfilling the pledges they made at last December's Ministerial Meeting, visit the State Action on Statelessness page.

2. Advocacy relating to the High-level Meeting, accessions and State pledges:

*- Campaign for Statelessness Conventions Gains Traction, at Last (Statelessness Programme Blog, Oct. 2012) [text]

- Dozens of Organizations Urge Member States to Accede to Statelessness Conventions (Refugees International, Sept. 2012) [text]

- No Country to Call Home (Women's Refugee Commission Blog, Sept. 2012) [text]

- Taking Stock of State Pledges to Tackle Statelessness? (European Network on Statelessness Blog, Sept. 2012) [text]

[Image credit: IDLO's infographic from its ROL meeting page]

Tagged Events & Opportunities, Publications and Web Sites/Tools.