Tag Archives: nationality laws

Unwanted Citizenship Part 2 – Citizenship under occupation in Western Sahara

Western Sahara

This series started with a blog on the unusual case of a man from Western Sahara, a Sahrawi, begging a French court to treat him as stateless.  The applicant argued that the occupying power in parts of Western Sahara – Morocco – imposed Moroccan nationality on him in violation of international law.  Was he right? In the second blog in …

Unwanted Citizenship Part 1 – The man who would be stateless

Sahrawi

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 …

SDG16.9 – The vital link between legal identity and statelessness?

SDGs legal identity statelessness

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 …

The time is now: what progress on repealing discriminatory nationality laws?

discriminatory nationality laws

In this blog I come back to the issue of discriminatory nationality laws as they affect women and their children, causing an increased risk of statelessness. I wrote previously about the impact of such laws in Nepal and Iran, although they are not the only states who still have discriminatory nationality laws.  There has been some progress recently in states …

Shall I at least set my lands in order? – Can states acquire new territory to avoid climatic statelessness?

Territory

As we get closer to COP26 in Glasgow this November and following on from the Climate and Development Ministerial on 31 March 2021, I want to come back to an issue I discussed in a series of blogs last year: statelessness caused by the impact of climate change. One way to look at citizenship is as the connection between a …

Love thy neighbour (and legalise their status) – Colombia and its approach to migrants from Venezuela

Colombia migrants Venezuela

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.  …

Zhao v Netherlands – The importance of having a statelessness determination procedure is clear, so why is the Netherlands still in denial?

Zhao v Netherlands

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 …

Statelessness in Malta – Guest appearance on the European Network on Statelessness Blog

Malta european network

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 …

The Kyrgyz Republic and the magic wand – How do states end statelessness?

Kyrgyz Republic

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 …

Recent case law on statelessness in South Africa – Mulowayi v Minister for Home Affairs

Statelessness in South Africa

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 …