In the last two Torn Identity blogs I looked at citizenship and statelessness through the prism of occupation, with Western Sahara as a case study. Recent events in Ukraine, and the earlier occupation of the Crimea and Donbas regions, demonstrate that the use of citizenship as a tool of occupation, through what has been called ‘passportisation’, remains a live issue …
This blog is the first in a short series looking at citizenship, statelessness and the law on state occupation. I open the debate with the unusual case of a man from Western Sahara, a Sahrawi, who unsuccessfully begged a French court to treat him as stateless rather than as having Moroccan citizenship. Given the challenges of being stateless, what would …
Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 makes birth registration the focus for improving legal identity for all. Since the adoption of the SDGs, the link between legal identity and the fight to end statelessness has been strengthened. That is why SDG16.9 has come to be about more than birth registration. Rather, it is about the importance of government identification systems and good …
Focusing again on climatic statelessness Over the last couple of years I have been blogging about climatic statelessness. Climatic statelessness is not yet a firmed-up concept, more a way to think about what happens, in reality and under international law, when a state no longer exists as a result of the effects of climate change. How might we strengthen legal …
This blog is part of a series examining climatic statelessness and the impact of slow onset climate change and extreme events on small island states and communities. Immediate action is needed to protect small island states from loss of their land and therefore their statehood, their identity and their lives. Adaption is crucial to ensure that these communities are not …
I previously wrote about two marginalised communities in Kenya, the Nubian and the Somali communities, and their struggle to obtain legal status and citizenship. Both communities face burdens not imposed on most other Kenyans. But they are not alone in campaigning for recognition as citizens of Kenya. In this blog I reflect on the recent progress made by the Shona …
Colombia was recently praised for recognising what should be obvious: the arrival, over the last couple of years, of some 1.5 million migrants and refugees from its neighbour Venezuela might be Venezuela’s loss, but it is Colombia’s gain. Colombia chose to maximise the benefits it will gain from the new arrivals by giving legal status to Venezuelan migrants and refugees. …
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 …
