Behind walls Blog

Navigating intersecting statelessness: Syrian Kurds in Europe

This blog examines the experiences of stateless Syrian Kurds in Europe by looking at how they’ve navigated asylum bureaucracies and their specific…
/ Thomas McGee (PhD researcher at Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, University of Melbourne Law School) and Haqqi Bahram (PhD researcher at REMESO - Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society, Linköping University)
Recognised Stateless Person who spent over a decade in limbo, photographed in London during lockdown. © UNHCR/Katie Barlow. Blog

I Am Human: New UNHCR report reveals the experiences of stateless people in the UK

In the final instalment of our three blog series focusing on the UK, the experiences of stateless people are brought to light in UNHCR’s new report,…
/ Zainnab Makele, Protection Associate, UNHCR UK
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
Map of the Berm wall Blog

Political limbo and statelessness in Africa’s last colony

The Saharawi people have been stateless for over 40 years since Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975. Danielle Smith, Founding Director of…
/ Danielle Smith - Founding Director, Sandblast Arts and Dr. Violeta Ruano
UNHCR Denmark mapping study report cover Blog

Statelessness in Denmark: UNHCR mapping sheds light on national law and practice

UNHCR’s representation for the Nordic and Baltic countries has conducted statelessness mappings in the eight countries in the Northern Europe region…
/ Eva Ersbøll - Senior researcher emerita, The Danish Institute for Human Rights
Stateless in Hungary report cover Blog

'Awaiting' - Stateless lives in Hungary

In 2007, Hungary was the world’s fifth country to introduce a statelessness determination procedure and protection status for those identified as…
/ Anikó Bakonyi (Senior Programme Officer, Hungarian Helsinki Committee) and Gábor Gyulai (Refugee Programme Director, Hungarian Helsinki Committee and ENS Board Member)
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
British passport Blog

Representing stateless people in the UK: a practitioner’s view

A recently published UNHCR audit of statelessness determination in the UK showed that, whilst there is some positive practice in the UK’s…
/ Claire Splawn - Statelessness Project Coordinator and Caseworker, Asylum Aid
Man stands in doorway looking down Blog

Statelessness Determination in the UK: UNHCR audit reveals the need for fundamental changes in approaches taken to decision making

UNHCR has published a report detailing findings from its audit of the UK's statelessness determination procedure. The report reveals a number of…
/ Sarah Elliott – Legal Officer, UNHCR UK
Court of Justice of the European Union Blog

Protecting the right to a nationality for children of same-sex couples in the EU – A key issue before the CJEU in V.M.A. v Stolichna Obsthina (C-490/20)

The enjoyment of LGBTIQ* rights varies across Europe. As a result, children of same-sex couples can face problems with recognition of civil status,…
/ Patrícia Cabral – Legal Policy Officer, European Network on Statelessness
Hawiati logo Blog

Introducing “Hawiati”: A network for stateless solidarity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Statelessness is a significant problem across the MENA. With national legal frameworks in the region taking little account of the reality of…
/ Zahra Albarazi and Thomas McGee - co-coordinators of the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati)
Children's toys Blog

A victory for human rights in Zhao v. the Netherlands (the ‘Denny case’): Nationality from birth, without exceptions

In its first-ever decision on the right to nationality, issued in late December, the UN Human Rights Committee calls on the Netherlands to enact a…
/ By Laura Bingham, Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Jelle Klaas, Public Interest Litigation Project of the International Commission of Jurists (NJCM)