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 …
In an earlier blog I considered some of the countries which had not yet acceded to the two Statelessness Conventions and which had no formal protective framework to avoid, reduce or mitigate the effects of statelessness. People are stateless or become stateless for many different reasons. What they have in common, wherever they are in the world, is the effect …
In this blog I consider the stateless population in Sabah state, part of Malaysia, how and why they are in this precarious position and what, if anything, Malaysia is doing to reduce the number of stateless people in Sabah. Who are the Sabah stateless? Sabah is a state in Malaysia and part of the island of Borneo. Sabah became …
“You have stumbled on in darkness, you have been pulled in opposite directions, you have faltered, you have missed the way, but, child, this is the chronicle of the earth. And now, because you have known madness and despair, and because you will grow desperate again before you come to evening, we who have stormed the ramparts of the furious …
An estimated 5.4 million individuals in Nepal (24 per cent of the population aged 16 years and above of Nepal’s 30 million population) do not have citizenship documentation. I wrote about all the basic rights that are unavailable to a stateless person here. Statelessness in a population arises for a number of reasons such as minority group discrimination, migration issues, …
In my last blog, I looked at statelessness determination procedures as a tool to help eradicate statelessness and mitigate the effects of statelessness for stateless people. In this blog, I want to come back to this issue. I look more closely at how the procedure can help both stateless people and the state, which countries have made use of the …
The causes of statelessness are many and can include discrimination against particular ethnic or religious groups, or on the basis of gender, the emergence of new States and transfers of territory between existing States, and gaps in nationality laws. But statelessness is not an accident. It is often the result of legal, policy, or political decisions made by states. States …
Giving citizenship to people who are displaced or stateless is the best way to ensure a sense of belonging. But what if this is citizenship on paper only and it is of a country where the person has never been and where he or she will not be allowed to reside? Is that person in effect only in possession of …
The Wild Boars football team trapped in a cave in Thailand this summer received a lot of media attention, as did their subsequent dramatic rescue. The media initially reported on their endurance as they waited to be rescued and on the bravery of their rescuers. Then, as more was discovered about the team, the attention focused on the fact that …
I am proud and very happy to be a guest blogger on the excellent and informative blog by the European Network on Statelessness. The European Network on Statelessness is the collaboration of non-governmental organisations, academic initiatives, and individual experts committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. As well as conducting and supporting legal and policy development, awareness-raising and capacity building activities, the Network …
