Stateless People

A stateless person is one who does not have a nationality or citizenship in any state. People are stateless because they did not acquire a nationality at birth, their state of origin no longer exists, or no state will accept them as citizens. Some groups, such as many Palestinians, have found themselves to be without a nationality because their state of origin was dissolved and the state in which they reside has not accepted them as its citizens. Other groups have been deprived of a nationality due to the breakup of their state of origin, such as the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the former Yugoslavia, into smaller independent states that do not recognize them as citizens. People are vulnerable to statelessness when governments determine citizenship based on descent, race, ethnicity, or the whim of those in power.

Some states bestow citizenship based on "blood," or descent from a family member, rather than by place of birth. In these states, even though a family may have resided outside of its state of origin for generations, its members are not granted citizenship where they reside. Some states construct high barriers to citizenship, such as requiring residents to have excellent language skills and several years of permanent residence.

Women and children are particularly vulnerable to becoming stateless. In many areas of the Middle East, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa, citizenship is restricted to the children of male nationals, so women may not independently obtain a nationality nor may they pass on nationality to their children. When a woman marries a citizen of another state, she may be required to forfeit her

nationality even if her husband's state refuses to grant citizenship to her or her children. An international treaty prohibiting discrimination against women, adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1976, requires states to grant women equal rights to acquire, change, or retain their nationality. Despite this treaty, many states retain their gender-based citizenship requirements. With regard to the nationality of children, even though the principle of nationality based on place of birth is now recognized as the norm, it is frequently violated.

Living without a nationality causes many problems. Stateless people have no right to participate in the public affairs of the state in which they reside. Without status as citizens or nationals, persons are deprived of the right to vote and to run for public office, and they may be denied access to public benefits including education, housing, health care, and employment. Stateless persons often have no recourse against this discrimination and may end up living for generations in substandard housing, suffering from poor education and lack of employment opportunities.

The UN has expressed its concern for stateless people and attempted to regulate their treatment. International laws require states to protect certain core rights of stateless persons who reside in their territory, especially the right to life, freedom from unlawful arrest and interference with privacy, access to the courts, the right to marry, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and the right to retain language, culture, and traditions.

See also: Citizenship; Immigration and Immigrants; Refugees.

bibliography

Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. 360 UNTS 117. New York: United Nations, 1956.

Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals Who Are Not Nationals of the Country in Which They Live. UN Document A/40/53. New York: United Nations, 1985.

Human Rights Watch. Racism and Human Rights: Nationality and Statelessness.<http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/race/nationality.htm>.

Barbara A. Frey