In this blog I consider the recent decision of the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) in the case of a young boy living in the Netherlands, Denny Zhao. Zhao is registered as of ‘nationality unknown’ rather than stateless. Under current Dutch law and procedure he has no prospect of finding protection as a stateless person, becoming a Dutch citizen, or …
Malta finally acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons on 11 December 2019. I discuss what this means for Malta’s stateless on the excellent statelessness.eu blog from the European Network on Statelessness. The European Network on Statelessness brings together non-governmental organisations, academic initiatives, and individual experts committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. As well as …
In a previous blog I wrote about the many stateless people living in the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia and the plight that they face as the authorities in Malaysia ignore the true extent of the problem. Sabah and Sarawak states are on Borneo Island, part of East Malaysia. In this blog, I look again at the challenges …
When it comes to reducing, and even eradicating statelessness, one country has got it just right. The Kyrgyz Republic has recently announced that it has ended statelessness within its borders. Let’s reflect on that. There were stateless people, in the thousands, living in the Kyrgyz Republic, and then the number of stateless individuals was reduced to 0. Not by 2024 …
In my last blog I looked at how climate change and cross-border migration interrelate and what would happen in the event that entire communities and even states were displaced due to climate change. In the rest of this series I look at which international law regimes might offer protection now and in the future. And where better to start, for …
The current issue of the excellent Statelessness & Citizenship Review is out now. I was delighted to be asked to contribute a case note to this year’s volume. Mulowayi v Minister of Home Affairs is an appeal to the South African Constitutional Court from a decision of the High Court of South Africa dealing with the validity of a regulation …
“What are the implications for national and international security of allowing terror suspects to be loose and undocumented in whatever country they happen to be in when their citizenship is revoked?…There are many unanswered questions” Baroness Smith of Basildon, Parliamentary debate in the UK House of Lords, 17 March 2014 Citizenship-stripping of ISIS and former ISIS fighters stops them from …
Season’s Greetings! This blog will take a short break over the festive period, returning in January for more on legal identity, belonging, citizenship and statelessness. For those celebrating Christmas and New Year this month – enjoy the holidays. If, like me, you are travelling this holiday season – for pleasure or to join friends and family – spare a thought …
It has been six months since the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) of 1951 received its final update. I have written about the continued impact of updating Assam’s Register in previous blogs here and here. Around 2 million people are excluded after the final count. More and more is written about this crisis in the making, the impact it …
I have written before about discriminatory nationality laws, specifically in relation to Nepal. But Nepal is not the only country with this problem. There are 25 countries in the world which still have discriminatory nationality laws. Among them are Brunei, Kuwait, eSwatini, Liberia, the Bahamas, Barbados and Iran. Iran has recently been in the news for proposals which are set …
