Refugees International: Issues: Stateless People

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Stateless People

Bangladesh 2004: Bihari mother in simple home

Concerns

More than 11 million people around the world are stateless. These are individuals who do not have a legal bond of nationality with any state and includes people who have never acquired citizenship of their birth country or who have lost their citizenship and have no claim to citizenship of another state. Children of stateless people often are born into statelessness and few manage to escape that status.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts "Everyone has the right to a nationality," but stateless individuals generally do not benefit from the protection and assistance of governments, the United Nations, or aid agencies. Only 62 states are party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and even fewer states, just 33, are party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. And despite its mandate, only two staff people at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are tasked with helping the world's stateless people on a full-time basis.

RI believes that the prevention of statelessness contributes not only to the promotion of human rights, better quality of life for affected individuals, and overall human security, but it also aids in the reduction of forced displacement and refugee flows.

Publications

10/11/2007 About Being Without: Stories of Stateless in Kuwait

02/15/2006 Citizens of Nowhere: The Stateless Biharis of Bangladesh

02/14/2006 Buried Alive: Stateless Kurds in Syria

02/14/2005 Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness

Accomplishments

In November 2004, RI conducted a mission to three countries to look more closely at cases of individuals who lack effective nationality. The mission, coupled with interviews and desk research on more than 70 countries, was the basis for the RI report "Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness." This 2005 report was the first U.S. NGO report on this issue.

RI suggested, pressed for, and helped organize first-ever Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing on statelessness. UNHCR was impressed with the new interest and brought its resident expert on statelessness to Washington. It was the first UNHCR mission to the U.S. on this topic in over four years. Later new guidelines were sent to all UNHCR offices to review their reporting duties in terms of statelessness.
In 2006, RI’s advocacy and informal training with the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration led to the bureau’s establishment of a stateless team that includes legal, congressional, health, policy, resource, and admissions specialists. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor increased inclusion of stateless groups in its 2006 Annual U.S. Human Rights Report and has signaled the 2007 report will include a subsection on stateless persons.

RI pressed for and organized the first Congressional staff delegation mission on statelessness and the first Congressional Children’s Caucus briefing on stateless children. Missions focused on statelessness were conducted in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. We organized a UN-Geneva roundtable on statelessness in conjunction with Jesuit Refugee Service and hosted a UN NGO training on statelessness at InterAction.

The leadership role that RI has played in raising the profile of statelessness is both unique and yet complementary in relation to our peer organizations and UN agencies. We believe reducing, and ultimately ending, statelessness is achievable.

What You Can Do

Sign Up for our bimonthly E-Updates to learn more about stateless people.
Donate to Refugees International so we can continue to advocate for more resources for stateless people. (Note: In the comments field, please write Stateless People.)

Find out if your government is a state party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on Reduction of Statelessness. If it is not a signatory try to find out why and ask your representative or other appropriate official to press for your country to become party to these important international agreements to protect stateless persons.