Blog

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…
/ Katja Swider, University of Amsterdam
Blog

In pursuit of solutions for the stateless

In pursuit of solutions was the theme of last week’s 2015 UNHCR NGO Consultations, a focus that perfectly captures the motivation behind UNHCR’s #…
/ Chris Nash, Director of the European Network on Statelessness
Blog

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…
/ Rachel Brett, Human Rights Adviser - Quaker UN Office, Geneva
Blog

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…
/ Giulia Bittoni, University of Burgundy and University of Bologna
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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…
/ Catherine Cosgrave, Managing Solicitor at the Immigrant Council of Ireland
Blog

Do stateless people have a right to die?

It was in October last year (2014) when Tereza, the long-term partner of my stateless client, came to my office and said to me: “Roman is in hospital…
/ Katarína Fajnorová, The Human Rights League, Slovakia
Blog

Stateless persons in Iceland, rarer than the Northern Lights?

Iceland, with a population of 322,000 people, is about 1500 kilometers away from its closest neighbor on the European continent. It is a land of…
/ Cecilie Becker-Christensen Saenz Guerrero, UNHCR Regional Representation for Northern Europe, and Inge Sturkenboom, Protection Officer, UNHCR Bureau for Europe
Blog

Four reasons why the Americas could become the first region to prevent and eradicate Statelessness

Last year three key events took place in the Americas that highlighted the commitment of the international community, civil society and states to…
/ Francisco Quintana - Program Director, Center for Justice and International Law and Liliana Gamboa - Program Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative
Blog

Hungarian Constitutional Court declares that lawful stay requirement in statelessness determination breaches international law

Until now, only lawfully staying persons could initiate a statelessness determination procedure in Hungary. After nearly eight years of struggle…
/ Gábor Gyulai, Refugee Programme Coordinator at the Hungarian Helsinki Committee
Blog

Why Malta needs to accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions

“If I was granted citizenship now, it would be like having been inside this room for twelve years [referring to a very small and crammed counselling…
/ Sophia Soares, UNHCR
Blog

Adding the voice of National Human Rights Institutions towards ending statelessness in Europe

‘A baby is born stateless every ten minutes’. This powerful image underlines UNHCR’s ‘I belong’ campaign, launched in November 2014, and aimed at…
/ Petra Baeyens, European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI)