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 …
For this blog, part of my series focusing on climatic statelessness, I return to the issue of small island states at risk of disappearing due to slow-onset climate change. My first blog of the series, 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 …
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 …
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s COP26 UN climate change conference has been postponed. But the urgency of tackling climate change has not gone away in the face of the pandemic. As the UN explains: “COVID-19 is the most urgent threat facing humanity today, but we cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the …
I had every intention of posting new blogs at the usual twice-monthly rate as the Covid-19 outbreak started. After all, now that I am in lockdown and not commuting to work, would I not have much more time for this and all manner of other (indoor) activities? I had not appreciated how much head space would be taken up with …
“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 …
