UNHCR Statelessness Research Award interviews... Lindsey Kingston

In this series of blog posts, we will be asking the students honoured in this year's UNHCR Award for Statelessness Research about their experiences studying the phenomenon on statelessness and their research findings. Third in the series is Dr Lindsey Kingston, whose doctoral thesis entitled "Legal Invisibility: Statelessness and Issue (Non) Emergence", which earned Kingston her PhD in social science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University (United States) in 2010, received a special mention from the jury.

     1.       Could you summarise, in 2 or 3 sentences, what your research was about?

Statelessness has serious human rights consequences, yet it receives little attention from the international community. My doctoral dissertation at Syracuse University used the problem of statelessness to better understand the process of issue emergence, or the step in the process of mobilization when a pre-existing grievance is transformed from a problem into a human rights issue.

     2.       What first got you interested in the problem of statelessness?

I first “discovered” the problem of statelessness on a research trip to Thailand in 2005. I was a graduate student at American University, and I had travelled to Thailand to learn about human trafficking. I soon realized that this issue was complicated by statelessness among various hill tribes, and that lack of legal nationality had serious consequences for minority groups.

     3.       Why did you choose this particular research topic?

After returning from Thailand, I had a very difficult time finding any information about statelessness – even from refugee agencies, which were often completely unaware of this problem. When I began my doctoral studies at Syracuse University, I started engaging with literature on social movements and transnational activism to better understand why such a terrible human rights issue wasn’t getting international attention. I found more questions than answers, so I decided to focus my dissertation research on the process of issue emergence within the human rights regime.

     4.       Could you briefly describe how you went about your research? E.g. did you base it on existing sources – and were they easy to find? Did you do fieldwork or interviews – and what was that like?

I conducted qualitative interviews with decision-makers at leading human rights and humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). I knew it would be difficult to gain access to my interview respondents, since they are incredibly busy people, and several professors warned me to have a “Plan B” in case I couldn’t collect the data. I was surprised (and gratified) to learn that these decision-makers were deeply interested in the questions I was asking, however, and we had some fascinating discussions. I was sure to share my research findings with all of my participants, and hopefully that information will help them in their own work.

     5.       What was the greatest challenge you had to deal with in undertaking your research?

My greatest challenge was that I was studying something that had not happened (at least, not yet): The issue emergence of statelessness on the international human rights agenda. Many of the NGO decision-makers I interviewed were not aware of the problem, or had not considered this issue within their organization. That forced me to broaden my interview protocol to focus on issue emergence in general, and then narrow that discussion to statelessness when possible.

     6.       Could you briefly summarise your main findings or conclusions – or what you think is the most important outcome of your research?

Interview data revealed four characteristic categories that play roles in issue emergence: strategic, environmental, issue, and organizational. Some of these characteristics figure prominently in existing literature, while others do not. Looking specifically at statelessness, the issue faces a number of key challenges for advocates – but it also enjoys a number of strengths that make mobilization possible. The most important outcome of this research is providing recommendations for future advocacy so that this critical issue receives the attention it deserves.

     7.       Have you found it rewarding to research statelessness – why / why not?

Certainly! It is exciting to see new attention to this issue, and I believe that researchers in this field have the ability to enact real change. Statelessness still hasn’t emerged in mainstream ways, but it’s getting there – and recent attention by the UNHCR and various NGOs is incredibly promising. The research community focused on statelessness is small but growing, and it’s composed of a dedicated and supportive group of people. I’m very grateful that these people are out there, and that they are willing to talk about this issue and brainstorm ways to advance this research agenda.

     8.       What tips would you give to students who are getting involved in statelessness research to help them? E.g. are there particular questions you think they should be looking at or methodological issues they should consider?

Clearly there’s still a real lack of solid data for understanding the scope of this problem and its impacts. Field work is vital, particularly so that we can draw direct links between lack of legal nationality and other human rights violations/threats.  

From on-the-ground research to international lobbying

Every year, several countries are reviewed by committees – or ‘treaty bodies’– attached to the major UN human rights conventions to ensure that they are abiding by their international obligations, and to question them when they are not. This happens on a rotating basis for countries across all of the different UN committees. Before the committees address the countries, they ask review the report prepared by the relevant government about how the international norms are being implemented. They also collect and review submissions from NGOs and other organizations as to what they think are the most pressing human rights issues in the state and what is needed to address them. NGOs have an added opportunity of physically attending the pre-sessions, making a short oral statement on identified problems and answering any questions the committee would like further information on. This July, three countries in the Middle East and North Africa that still retain an element of gender discrimination in their nationality laws, came up for review before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Iraq, Qatar and Bahrain. Although Iraq’s law is now greatly improved, none of these states fully grant mothers the right transfer nationality to their children on an equal par to men – a situation which can lead to new cases of statelessness.

 

This issue tied in perfectly with our recent research with the Women’s Refugee Commission, “Our Motherland, Our Country”. Continuing our joint follow-up advocacy , we considered this to be an ideal opportunity to talk to the CEDAW committee about the consequences of gendered nationality laws, specifically the problems that emerged from the findings of this report.  So, yesterday I was in Geneva to give the Statelessness Programme’s first ever briefing of a UN treaty body. After a mix-up of the starting times and length of session, things finally got going and I was invited to deliver  a short presentation. This was followed by some questions from the committee, to help them fill any gaps in knowledge they had on the issue. The presentation we had prepared contained quotes from some of the testimonials compiled during the WRC research, contextualizing the issue as a real humanitarian problem, and highlighting how family unity is being destroyed because of this discrimination in nationality laws. 

 

NGOs from around the world can come and talk about any state law or practise they feel is in violation of the convention, and they all do this together in the same briefing session. This provides a fascinating opportunity to understand more about other topics which often directly correlate to our own interests. A very active women's rights NGO from Iraq, for example, joined the same pre-session I attended and had a lot to say about Iraq’s flaws in adhering to its CEDAW obligations - they spoke about topics varying from the rise in cases of FGM to the lack of female representation in parliament.  We also learnt from them of the phenomenon of men who are identified as 'terrorists' in Iraq, who are forced therefore to live without the protection of the law and unable to conduct any legal transactions. Some (informally) marry, have children and often eventually abandon their families without any legal trace - leaving a new generation of children with no form of identification and putting them at risk of becoming stateless.

 

My time at the CEDAW pre-session allowed me to witness some interesting presentations and a lively question and answer session. It was clear that the Committee was very eager to hear the voices of people working on the ground and it was also very satisfying to find that the application and the procedure itself of briefing such a committee is very simple and easy to navigate. I admit that I went in with some doubts about this form of advocating for change, which seemed a rather abstract mechanism of lobbying, far away from lives of those we had met during the field research. However, actually, experiencing the process and seeing the real interest and enthusiasm of the committee and the NGOs involved, I came away newly inspired and would now firmly vouch for the importance and necessity of continued international pressure and support – alongside national initiatives – for the promotion of universally gender neutral nationality laws. We are really looking forward to seeing how the information we provided will feed into the review and questioning of these three countries by the committee.

 

Zahra Albarazi, Researcher and MENA statelessness expert, Statelessness Programme

NGO Statement on Statelessness: delivered to UNHCR Standing Committee in June 2013

At UNHCR's June 2013 Standing Committee session, the following joint statement was delivered on behalf of NGOs about the problem of statelessness. 

STANDING Committee of the

High Commissioner’s Programme

57th Meeting

25 – 27 June 2013

NGO Statement on Statelessness

Agenda Item 3(b)

Madame Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This statement (available at: www.icvanetwork.org) is being delivered by the Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers).  It has been drafted in consultation with, and is delivered on behalf of, a wide range of NGOs and aims to reflect the diversity of views within the NGO community.

            NGOs are encouraged by recent developments illustrating real progress in global efforts to tackle statelessness, many of which arise from pledges made during the December 2011 Ministerial meeting organised by UNHCR to mark the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the 1961 Statelessness Convention. At this meeting a total of 21 States pledged to ratify both the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. A further 11 States pledged to ratify the 1961 Convention, and one pledged to ratify the 1954 Convention. In 2012, five of those States acceded to the 1954 Convention and seven to the 1961 Convention.

            NGOs particularly welcome the work of some Member States towards the establishment of statelessness determination procedures, including in Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay in the Americas region. The recent introduction of a UK statelessness determination procedure similarly serves as a useful example to the vast majority of European states who do not yet have dedicated procedures in place, despite having ratified the 1954 Statelessness Convention. It is hoped that pledges made by the European Union at the General Assembly in October 2012 signify a sea change in the priority it affords to tackling statelessness which has hitherto been largely absent from its agenda. Also welcome are current proposals to establish a statelessness determination procedure in the U.S. as part of comprehensive immigration reform. Against the overall relatively limited progress made implementing State pledges in the Africa region, the recent reform of the Zimbabwe constitution stands out as a positive example and NGOs note that the reform of its nationality law and effective implementation will be key to ensuring that the mass statelessness issues there are resolved. Likewise to be applauded are recent improvements to Russian nationality legislation, which should help reduce statelessness in that country. At the same, it remains of significant and enduring concern that so many individuals are still stateless following the break-up of the former Soviet Union more than 20 years ago, including large numbers of ethnic Russians residing in Estonia and Latvia.      

            Equally, NGOs are encouraged that over the last decade many States have reformed their nationality laws to address gender inequality, including five states from the Middle East and North Africa. At the December 2011 Ministerial Meeting, two states pledged to introduce reforms in that regard. Nevertheless, 29 States around the world – including 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa - still discriminate against women in their right to pass their nationality on to their family, which is causing statelessness or at least contributing to the its perpetuation in many situations. We encourage all countries to reform their nationality laws to lift gender discrimination in line with international standards.             

            NGOs expect that UNHCR will continue to address the massive and protracted statelessness problems worldwide through adequate programming and staff resources, even as the organization struggles to deal with so many large-scale emergencies. The plight of stateless Rohingya over the past decades, culminating in the violence which began in June 2012, demonstrates the strong nexus between protracted statelessness, vulnerability to human rights abuse and discrimination, persecution, internal displacement and forced migration. While recognising the need for humanitarian aid and protection for displaced populations, UNHCR is also encouraged to address the root causes of arbitrary deprivation of nationality that results in statelessness for such populations in order to achieve durable solutions that respect and protect the human rights of all concerned.       

            NGOs urge UNHCR to continue its efforts to mainstream statelessness and the right to nationality in all relevant UN processes and to cooperate with its sister agencies to address this issue. In particular, NGOs encourage greater cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  We also encourage UNHCR to continue to dialogue with and provide technical assistance to States to reduce and prevent statelessness.

NGOs are encouraged by the growing interest of students, academics and research institutions in statelessness. It is hoped that the First Global Forum on Statelessness, which is to be held in September 2014 in The Hague, will serve to strengthen partnerships between academia, UNHCR and NGOs on statelessness research and capacity building activities.

However, despite progress, an estimated 12 million people are still not recognized as citizens of any country in the world. Without the protection of a government, they are stigmatized and often live in extreme poverty without access to education, health care or legal processes that shield them from abuse and exploitation. NGOs therefore applaud the recent statements by High Commissioner Guterres calling for the eradication of statelessness within a decade. Such ambition is necessary in order to mobilise the broad spectrum of international actors and resources required to make real progress towards achieving this objective. Meeting this goal will also require stronger public messaging, awareness-raising and forums to hear the voices of stateless persons themselves.       

In this regard, NGOs support the recent call for the adoption of an international day of observance on statelessness.  If implemented, this could deliver positive impact comparable to that already achieved in other fields such as through International Refugee Day. Next year, as the world commemorates the 60^th anniversary of the 1954 Statelessness Convention, we hope that the first international day on statelessness will stand as a sign of collective resolve to reduce and prevent statelessness and to protect all stateless persons.

Finally, Madame Chair, we encourage all governments that made pledges to report on their progress at the 2013 Executive Committee meeting in three months time.

Thank you, Madame Chair.

Statelessness consultations in Geneva

This week, I attended the annual UNHCR-NGO consultations for the first time. This is a 3-day event during which civil society partners of the UN Refugee Agency descend on Geneva and engage in a structured dialogue (or sometimes monologue) with one another and with UNHCR staff. Before coming, I wasn't quite sure what to expect - I found it hard to picture what a 'consultation' with some 300 participating NGOs might look like or what the outcome would be. As I sit at the airport now, waiting for my flight home, I am still digesting the experience. Overall, I would say that it was exhausting but productive, with the most beneficial aspect being the chance to catch up in person - during a very short space of time - with many of our existing partners and discuss ongoing and possible future projects, as well as to make new connections that will hopefully lead to all sorts of new opportunities. Without attempting to give a comprehensive account of what went on this week, below is a reflection on some of the highlights...
 
Launching our research with the Women's Refugee Commission
My colleague Zahra Albarazi headed for Geneva a few days before me in order to participate in a so-called 'side event' during the lunch break of the Human Rights Council sitting last Friday. She was the principal researcher for our study that mapped the impact of gender discrimination in nationality law in terms of how it contributes to statelessness and what knock-on effects this has. The research focused on the Middle East and North Africa region, where Zahra undertook several field trips during the first months of this year, namely to Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco. The Human Rights Council side event in which the findings of this research were presented also marked the official launch of the report and the beginning of advocacy work by the Women's Refugee Commission (who took the initiative for and funded the project). The report, an evocative photo-essay and two absolutely fantastic short advocacy videos which show the human dimension of this problem can be found on WRC's website. The launch successfully out of the way last week, I was able to join Zahra and our WRC counterparts and participate in a number of smaller and more detailed briefings on the project in the margins of the NGO consultations. The response, especially to the stories told in the videos by those directly effected, was very impressive and we have real hope that this project can help to contribute to a better understanding of the need to continue to push for the reform of nationality laws to allow women to pass nationality to their children. We certainly don't want any more women to feel guilty or depressed because they married a foreigner or for couples to feel pressure to divorce in a desperate attempt to give their children a chance of acquiring a nationality and securing a better future.
 
Statelessness retreat

 

Immediately before the official (and rather imposing) UNHCR-NGO consultations kicked off, UNHCR convened a smaller group (+/- 30) of organisations and individuals specifically active in the field of statelessness for a 'retreat', to discuss how to improve collaboration and make more of an impact. A retreat in nature, not just in name, we convened at a picturesque but Spartan monastery outside Lausanne. In addition to exchanging good (and less good) experiences and providing updates on planned activities so that we could all think about ensuring greater complementarity of our work, we also had an active discussion about the need to a global network, coalition or movement of some kind to really take on statelessness. There seemed to be consensus that now is the time to act and that with the momentum that exists behind statelessness, we perhaps need to set the bar higher and formulate a ‘big’ ambition to work towards. What exactly this bigger goal or campaign around which we should all be uniting, was still up for discussion at the end of the retreat, but agreeing that it may be time to identify such a goal is certainly an important first step.
 
UNHCR-NGO consultations
During the NGO consultations proper, statelessness was put on the agenda for one of the thematic break-out sessions and an entire afternoon was dedicated to further discussion. This session was attended by somewhere in the region of 75 individuals (from my own quick and rather crude head-count), bringing in more voices than those which were involved in the retreat. Here again, there was a discussion of good practices and common outstanding challenges, in particular on: how to move governments to make (then keep) commitments in the field of statelessness, how to tackle protracted situations of statelessness like that of the Rohingya in Myanmar and how to take advantage of the 60^th anniversary of the 1954 Statelessness Convention next year to make strides on the issue. I had the honour (and daunting task) of moderating the session, which turned out to be rather enjoyable since I was able to abuse my position at regular intervals to add my own thoughts on ideas or questions raised. Personally, I found the last part of the discussion which was all about ‘what now?’ the most interesting and useful. It was quickly apparent that, within the room at least, a consensus has been reached about the challenges posed by statelessness but also the opportunity to really make a difference on this issue if existing momentum can be consolidated. The discussion, as at the retreat, therefore quickly turned to a crucial question that needs to be addressed: coalition or cause? It’s something of a chicken-and-egg discussion, the crux of which is this: do we need to focus our energies on further growing and organizing a coalition of organisations to work on statelessness and push this issue forwards or do we need to – with those already engaged – identify a common cause around which we can rally and subsequently hope to draw in and activate others? My own sense at the moment is that the latter approach might be more effective, since I think it will be easier to entice organisations that have to date been hesitant to get involved in the issue to become a part of a global movement if the foundation for such a movement has already been laid with a few organisations taking a lead role and publically announcing their ambition. What that ambition could be also seems to be crystallising as several organisations expressed their support for the goal that has, in fact, already been enunciated by UNHCR High Commissioner Guterres: the eradication of statelessness within the next decade. Realists would likely be quick to suggest that this is an ambition which is inevitably beyond our reach, yet there is something inspiring about the sentiment and to dare to set ourselves such a goal (and publically commit to it) would, I think, enable us to collectively channel our energies and set out a roadmap that – even if only partly achieved – could bring real and lasting change for the issue. If we could, for instance, even achieve the eradication of childhood statelessness in the next ten years and ensure that no more children start out life without a nationality, this would be a major and massively worthwhile achievement. In short, I for one came away with a new perspective on our work and the task that lays ahead of us and I am quietly hopeful that over the course of the next year or so, we will begin to be more daring and more ambitious in our aims.
 
Other bits and bobs
Besides promoting the findings of our research project with WRC and actively participating in all of the general statelessness discussions, I was also able to make some strides on other matters during my stay in Geneva. Together with some of the other steering committee members of the European Network on Statelessness – who were also in town for the NGO consultations – we were able to hold some useful side meetings to discuss a strategy for tackling statelessness in Europe. One of the most fruitful of these was a gathering of NGOs in which UNHCR’s Europe Bureau Director also participated and gave voice to the plans that they are laying for the issue in this region. It was encouraging to hear of the commitment not just to participating actively in activities around the commemoration of the 1954 convention next year, but longer term, to really find solutions to bring back the number of stateless people in the region. The openness of the discussion between UNHCR and NGOs in this region and the added value of ENS as a regional network representing NGO experiences and interests, offers massive advantages in helping to translate all of the ideas into actual action. Another good experience this week was the chance to speak up for involvement of the academic community in work on statelessness and to appeal to both UNHCR and NGOs to reach out to university partners and draw them into their activities wherever relevant. I was very pleased to discover that I was not the only academic present and even more pleased to make a number of very interesting new contacts that will, I hope, lead to some form of collaboration with universities, including in Japan, South Africa and the US. So, plenty to follow up on in the weeks and months to come and fingers crossed that by the time of next year’s NGO consultations we will have formed and consolidated further partnerships – and perhaps even achieved the beginnings of a global movement – on statelessness.
 
Laura van Waas, Senior Researcher and Manager, Statelessness Programme
 

The UNHCR NGO Consultations in Geneva – A springboard for the adoption of an International Day on Statelessness?

A recent blog (re)posted here considered the non-emergence of statelessness as an issue, and a similar process of reflection has led the European Network on Stateless (ENS) and the Tilburg Statelessness Programme to call for the adoption of an international day of observance on action to tackle statelessness. We are urging UN Agencies and civil society organisations alike to rally together and lobby the UN General Assembly to make this a reality. The annual UNHCR NGO Consultations in Geneva next week provide a tailor-made opportunity to test support for this initiative and hopefully to generate momentum towards its eventual realisation, which could go a long way towards finally helping to bring the statelessness issue out of the shadows.

It seems indisputable that statelessness has remained a hidden crisis for too long. Hence a recent relative increase in international resolve to address statelessness can only be welcomed. Greater attention and resources dedicated to statelessness by UN Agencies, increased ratifications of the statelessness conventions, pledges on statelessness and new procedures to identify and protect stateless persons by states around the world are all positive signs of a sea change. Equally important is growing activity and expertise on the issue amongst NGOs and academics. These examples show the world is beginning to catch up with the complexities and massive human impact of this man-made problem. However, despite the strong nexus with refugee related issues and the immense human rights impact of statelessness, it is still very much a niche area that hasn’t sufficiently made it onto the curricula of universities, the agendas of NGOs or the policy priorities of states to the extent that it should.

To provide some perspective, the UNHCR estimates the global stateless population to be 12 million. Most agree that this is a conservative estimate, and as efforts to map statelessness in countries around the world are undertaken, we are becoming more aware of both the extent of the problem and the extent of our ignorance in relation to it. UNHCR has a much better grasp of refugee figures; in 2012 there were 10.4 million refugees of concern to UNHCR and a further 4.8 million refugees of concern to UNRWA. Additionally, 15.5 million internally displaced persons receive protection and/or assistance from UNHCR. Despite the similar sizes of these three vulnerable populations, no comparison can be made between the widespread nature of the awareness, expertise and resources on, and resultant protection available to refugees and even IDPs, as opposed to the stateless. 

It is widely acknowledged that international days of observance are an effective and practical way to raise awareness and generate momentum around an issue. According to the UN:

United Nations observances contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the UN Charter and promote awareness of and action on important political, social, cultural, humanitarian or human rights issues. They provide a useful means for the promotion of international and national action and stimulate interest in United Nations activities and programmes.

 

The 10^th of December and the 20^th of June are universally associated with human rights and refugees respectively. Observances on these days have over the years raised awareness on and the profile of the issues and challenges related to these respective fields and shed light on the work carried out by individuals and organisations in difficult environments. They have become annual celebrations of human rights and the rights of refugees, and times for introspection, assessment and review of past failures. They have contributed towards the development of discourses around these issues and the creation of a culture which is more conducive to their promotion and protection.

The adoption of an international day of observance on statelessness would have the potential to positively impact on the issue of statelessness in the same way. Given insufficient general awareness on statelessness, the benefits of having an international day of observance would arguably be greater still. Equally importantly, the time would appear right to try to take this initiative forward given recent momentum on the issue, and the fact that increasing numbers of individuals and organisations are starting to include statelessness within their mandates. The fact that ENS has attracted over 70 new members within a year of its launch is testament to that. Timing-wise hopefully we can also see a helpful correlation in that World Refugee Day was introduced in 2000, a year before the 50^th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Hopefully next year’s commemoration of the 60^th anniversary of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons provides a similar rationale and impetus to proclaim the first international day on statelessness to serve as a marker of collective resolve to reduce and prevent statelessness and protect all stateless persons.

All this being said, making the case for adoption and actually achieving a new international day of observance are two different things. It would be naïve to underestimate the challenges inherent in securing political support for this Call in the face of possible resistance relating to a perception among some states that there is already a proliferation of international days of observance. Equally it requires a sufficient groundswell of support from a broad spectrum of civil society organisations that this is a good and necessary idea. Without this, adopting an international day would be premature and perhaps even counter-productive. Finally, the initiative needs the considered backing of UNHCR at the highest level.

The NGO Consultations in Geneva next week provide the perfect opportunity to gauge opinion on this, and potentially to provide a springboard from which to get an international day adopted in time for the 1954 Convention anniversary commemorations next year. Hopefully we can already be encouraged by the fact that statelessness is such a visible and pressing topic for debate in Geneva newt week. As well as the formal statelessness session on the agenda there is also a UNHCR-organised Statelessness Retreat beforehand and two side events in the margins, including an ENS roundtable. It will be interesting to see what develops from these discussions.

This blog first appeared on the ENS website at www.statelessness.eu Contact ENS Coordinator Chris Nash at info@statelessness.eu for more information or to express support for this call. With enough backing we hope together to make an International Day on Statelessness a reality.

This blog also appears on the website of the European Network on Statelessness at www.statelessness.eu.

GUEST POST: A Global Campaign to End Statelessness - The Time Has Come

For too long statelessness has remained a sleeper issue. This is surprising considering that UNHCR's latest statistics confirm 3.5 million stateless persons worldwide and estimate that the number is closer to 12 million. Furthermore, the problem has persisted all around the globe.  

In Europe, the break-up of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia produced millions of stateless persons who fell between the cracks of new nationality criteria adopted by successor States or were unable to satisfy administrative requirements for acquisition of a new nationality.  Historically, racial and ethnic discrimination (often codified in law) against minorities has been a major cause of statelessness. Twenty-six countries found in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, still retain nationality laws which prevent women from passing on their nationality to their children on an equal basis as fathers, thus creating a risk of statelessness that can be passed down from generation to generation. Recent flare-ups, from the violence between the Rakhine and Muslims in Myanmar to protests by the Bidoun in Kuwait, find a common denominator in decades-long statelessness situations in these States.

Since its creation, UNHCR has worked to provide international protection and find durable solutions for stateless refugees who are covered by its Statute and by the 1951 Refugee Convention. However, it was only in 1995 that the UN General Assembly passed a resolution conferring upon the Agency a global mandate to identify and protect stateless people and to undertake activities to prevent and reduce statelessness. At the Ministerial Meeting convened by UNHCR in 2011 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, an unprecedented number of States pledged to take action on statelessness: to prevent and reduce the problem and to recognise the status of stateless people. More than 30 countries undertook to accede, or take steps to accede, to one or both of the Statelessness Conventions.

Implementation of many of these pledges will be assisted by the issuance of recent UNHCR Guidance on: the definition of a stateless person; the establishment of statelessness determination procedures; the status to be afforded to stateless persons when they have been identified; and forthcoming guidelines on preventing statelessness amongst children in accordance with the principles of the 1961 Statelessness Convention.

Although the last few years have witnessed a heightened awareness of the plight of stateless people and an increased willingness on behalf of States to address statelessness, there is still a need for a global groundswell of concerted and coordinated action by various actors, including civil society groups, scholars, the media and affected individuals themselves, to end statelessness. Given the links between the causes and consequences of statelessness and other well-supported human rights issues, including gender discrimination, children’s rights and prevention of arbitrary detention, part of the task is to better understand the points at which these issues and statelessness intersect and to engage a wider pool of advocates to include action on statelessness as part of their advocacy strategies.

To encourage this process, on 3 July 2012, UNHCR convened an informal half-day strategy meeting on the margins of its 2012 Annual NGO Consultations.  A total of 26 NGO representatives participated from organizations working on statelessness based in 13 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.  Key proposals to increase action and awareness on statelessness by NGOs and to advance a global network or coalition to end statelessness included:

• advocacy by international and field-based NGOs on statelessness concerns before international human rights mechanisms (for example, the Universal Periodic Review, treaty bodies and special procedures);

• action to ensure implementation of State pledges relating to statelessness made at the Ministerial Meeting in December 2011;

• improvement of existing and creation of new opportunities for collaboration between UNHCR and NGOs to address statelessness; and

• development of a global matrix of NGOs working on statelessness  to improve networking, coordination and joint action, including advocacy within the UN system.

UNHCR is very pleased to see the emergence of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS). The actors working on statelessness need to set ambitious objectives to address this global problem.  A first step towards our common goals is to involve a greater number of organisations, to ensure better coordination and exchange of information and to develop a common research and advocacy agenda.  ENS is leading the way at the European level.

For a range of documentation on statelessness, please visit UNNHCR's Refworld page: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/statelessness.html

Mark Manly, Head UNHCR Statelessness Unit and Radha Govil, UNHCR


This Blog originally appeared on the website of the European Network on Statelessness (www.statelessness.eu), a civil society alliance committed to address statelessness in Europe, of which the Statelessness Programme is a founding member.

GUEST POST: The birth of the European Network on Statelessness

A year which ended with UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, hailing a “quantum leap” in global efforts to tackle statelessness was also an opportune moment for civil society actors to examine how best to coordinate and strengthen their contribution in support of such efforts.

In July 2011, and with that aim already in mind, a small group of organisations - Asylum Aid, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Open Society Justice Initiative, the Equal Rights Trust, Praxis and the Tilburg Statelessness Programme - started a conversation which resulted in the creation of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS).

A Steering Committee was formed to guide the development of the Network and to put in place solid foundations for its future expansion and sustainability. The Steering Committee met again in December 2011 and it was decided that Asylum Aid would initially host and coordinate the Network pending steps necessary to set it up as an independent organisation with its own legal identity based in the UK. A further meeting in Tilburg in April 2012 finalised an activity plan with particular focus on launching the ENS website along with other work to raise awareness and invite broader participation in the network.

It was evident when forming the Network that the statelessness problem requires an effective and coordinated response by civil society actors. In today’s Europe statelessness occurs both among recent migrants and among people who have lived in the same place for generations. Most countries in the region frequently encounter stateless persons in their asylum systems. In the Balkans and elsewhere many Roma remain stateless as a result of ethnic discrimination. Statelessness is also a continuing reminder of the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Yet despite the scale of the problem, most European countries have no framework to effectively deal with statelessness and tackling this requires major law and policy reform.

Given that at present there is relatively limited understanding of the issue by both government and civil society actors there is an equally compelling need for more awareness-raising, training and provision of expert advice. ENS stands ready to provide this.

Another key challenge derives from the marginalisation of stateless persons - notably described as “legal ghosts” by former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg. While urging that the problem of statelessness be afforded greater priority he went on to emphasise that “Many victims have little possibility themselves to be heard and in many cases are silenced by their fear of further discrimination”. Acutely recognising this phenomenon, ENS is dedicated to strengthening the often unheard voice of stateless persons in Europe and to advocate for full respect of their human rights.

With the ENS website now launched, and briefing events planned in Brussels and at the UNHCR NGO Consultations in Geneva next month, we hope that many more organisations working on statelessness will get involved with the network. As the ENS membership grows, the pool of thematic and country expertise will grow with it – bringing new opportunities to achieve real impact.

We are obviously only at the start of a journey.  But by working together and pooling our resources hopefully we can make a real difference in tackling statelessness and helping to bring Europe’s “legal ghosts” out of the shadows.

Chris Nash, Asylum Aid & European Network on Statelessness

The European Network on Statelessness is open to NGOs, research centres, academics and other individuals who wish to apply for associate membership. For further information contact ENS Coordinator Chris Nash at info@statelessness.eu or visit our website at www.statelessness.eu