Solving Statelessness


Book Description

Since the 1990s, interest in statelessness has been steadily increasing within academia, among governments, at the UN, and among civil society organizations. Research projects, mapping studies, and doctrinal discussions have helped to clarify the challenges faced, as well as what is at stake. This has led to a fresh sense of purpose in addressing the issue. Spurred on by the UNHCR-led #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024, there is a growing international movement engaged in finding solutions. Making meaningful progress towards this goal demands a new and more ambitious approach, one that moves beyond stock-taking to inspire solutions. As Volker Tuerk outlines in his introduction to this ground-breaking publication: The global debates have moved beyond the need to explain the problem and its causes and consequences. The time has come to accelerate the momentum to implement durable solutions effectively. The essays collected in this edited volume all approach statelessness from a solutions perspective, looking at what is being done, and what more can be done, to address this issue. The first part of the book has a thematic focus, exploring perspectives, tools, and techniques for solving statelessness across different countries and regions. Chapters in the second part each have a regional focus, exploring region-specific challenges, developments, and innovations set against the backdrop of the broader context of a global campaign to solve statelessness. With contributions from both scholars and practitioners, this book will be of interest to anyone engaged in studying or implementing solutions for statelessness, including researchers, government policy-makers, staff of international or regional inter-governmental bodies and UN agencies, grass-roots and international civil society organizations, legal practitioners, and advanced-level students. [Subject: Human Rights Law, Statelessness, Politics]




SOLVING STATELESSNESS IN MYANMAR


Book Description

When the Nu-Atlee Agreement decolonized Burma (Myanmar), the option to refuse the nationality for the new state and chose another nationality had not been given to the minorities of Burma (Myanmar). Before the independence of Myanmar, all the peoples including the minorities were under the protection of the Article 73 of the UN Charter. When the minorities of Burma (Myanmar) became stateless by decolonization, this is against the "object and purposes" of Article 73 of the UN Charter that can never be "sacrificed." Decolonization is based on the principle, "leaving no one behind" for the right of the peoples to self-determination. The UN and the international community as a whole under the erga omnes responsibility for the protection of the Nu-Atlee Agreement on the base that "no derogation shall be allowed from the right of the peoples to self- determination."




Nationality and Statelessness under International Law


Book Description

This book identifies the rights of stateless people and outlines the major legal obstacles preventing the eradication of statelessness.




Statelessness, governance, and the problem of citizenship


Book Description

When a person is not recognised as a citizen anywhere, they are typically referred to as ‘stateless’. This can give rise to challenges both for individuals and for the institutions that try to govern them. Statelessness, governance, and the problem of citizenship breaks from tradition by relocating the ‘problem’ to be addressed from one of statelessness to one of citizenship. It problematises the governance of citizenship – and the use of citizenship as a governance tool – and traces the ‘problem of citizenship’ from global and regional governance mechanisms to national and even individual levels. With contributions from activists, affected persons, artists, lawyers, academics, and national and international policy experts, this volume rejects the idea that statelessness and stateless persons are a problem. It argues that the reality of statelessness helps to uncover a more fundamental challenge: the problem of citizenship.




Understanding Statelessness


Book Description

Understanding Statelessness offers a comprehensive, in-depth examination of statelessness. The volume presents the theoretical, legal and political concept of statelessness through the work of leading critical thinkers in this area. They offer a critique of the existing framework through detailed and theoretically-based scrutiny of challenging contexts of statelessness in the real world and suggest ways forward. The volume is divided into three parts. The first, ‘Defining Statelessness’, features chapters exploring conceptual issues in the definition of statelessness. The second, ‘Living Statelessness’, uses case studies of statelessness contexts from States across global regions to explore the diversity of contemporary lived realities of statelessness and to interrogate standard theoretical presentations. ‘Theorising Statelessness’, the final part, approaches the theorisation of statelessness from a variety of theoretical perspectives, building upon the earlier sections. All the chapters come together to suggest a rethinking of how we approach statelessness. They raise questions and seek answers with a view to contributing to the development of a theoretical approach which can support more just policy development. Throughout the volume, readers are encouraged to connect theoretical concepts, real-world accounts and challenging analyses. The result is a rich and cohesive volume which acts as both a state-of-the-art statement on statelessness research and a call to action for future work in the field. It will be of great interest to graduates and scholars of political theory, human rights, law and international development, as well as those looking for new approaches to thinking about statelessness.




The World's Stateless


Book Description

Introduction -- Africa -- Americas -- Asia and the Pacific -- Europe -- Middle East and North Africa (MENA) -- Introduction -- The right of every child to a nationality -- Migration, displacement and childhood statelessness -- The sustainable development agenda and childhood statelessness -- Safeguards against childhood statelessness -- Litigation and legal assistance to address childhood statelessness -- Mobilising to address childhood statelessness




Statelessness


Book Description

The story of how a much-contested legal category—statelessness—transformed the international legal order and redefined the relationship between states and their citizens. Two world wars left millions stranded in Europe. The collapse of empires and the rise of independent states in the twentieth century produced an unprecedented number of people without national belonging and with nowhere to go. Mira Siegelberg’s innovative history weaves together ideas about law and politics, rights and citizenship, with the intimate plight of stateless persons, to explore how and why the problem of statelessness compelled a new understanding of the international order in the twentieth century and beyond. In the years following the First World War, the legal category of statelessness generated novel visions of cosmopolitan political and legal organization and challenged efforts to limit the boundaries of national membership and international authority. Yet, as Siegelberg shows, the emergence of mass statelessness ultimately gave rise to the rights regime created after World War II, which empowered the territorial state as the fundamental source of protection and rights, against alternative political configurations. Today we live with the results: more than twelve million people are stateless and millions more belong to categories of recent invention, including refugees and asylum seekers. By uncovering the ideological origins of the international agreements that define categories of citizenship and non-citizenship, Statelessness better equips us to confront current dilemmas of political organization and authority at the global level.




Nationality of Foundlings


Book Description

This is the first book dedicated to clarifying the concept of “foundlings” and how to best prevent their statelessness in light of the object and purpose of Article 2 of the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and equivalent nationality law provisions. Among other features, the book defines the terms “foundling,” including the maximum age limit of the child to be considered a “foundling”; “unknown parents”; being “found” in a territory; and “proof to the contrary”; as well as the procedural issues such as the appropriate burden and standard of proof. In doing so, the book draws upon a comparative analysis of national legislation on “foundlings” covering 193 states, case law, and precedents in some states as well as international human rights law norms including the best interests of the child. As its conclusion, the book proposes an inclusive model “foundling provision” and a commentary to inform legislative efforts and interpretation of the existing provisions. Its findings are useful not only to state parties to the 1961 Convention but also to non-state parties, particularly in countries lacking systematic civil documentation or experiencing the effects of armed conflicts, migration, trafficking, and displacement.




Safeguarding Against Statelessness at Birth


Book Description

This book covers the essential aspects of prevention of childhood statelessness focusing on norms governing the subject through the rights to acquire a nationality and to birth registration, two vital safeguards to prevent statelessness among children. Its unique feature lies in its exposition of the international legal norms focusing on prevention of childhood statelessness and systematic analyses of domestic legal frameworks on nationality and birth registration of the 10 ASEAN Member States. This book is designed for a wide range of readers comprising academics, advocates, students, policy makers, and other stakeholders working on statelessness affecting children, especially in Southeast Asia.




Protecting Stateless Persons


Book Description

In Protecting Stateless Persons: The Implementation of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons across EU States, Katia Bianchini offers an in-depth comparative study of legislation, case-law and decision-making concerning the treatment of stateless persons in ten EU States. Focusing on whether and why statelessness determination procedures are needed, what their constituent elements should be, how the definition of "stateless person" is interpreted and applied, and what rights are attached to the granting of status, Katia Bianchini critically examines current national legal frameworks, and points a way forward for more effective legislation and practice in the area of statelessness. Against this backdrop, she adds insights into the wider debate on how human rights treaties should be implemented.