Issue 32 – to be published in January 2009 – will include a feature section on

Statelessness

So much of our official identity depends on the fact that we belong in a nation-state and on the recognition of rights and duties – even if they are often ignored or denied - that this entails. Yet ever since the early part of the 20th century, when the idea of the nation-state became universally accepted as the model for governance, there have been people with whom no state acknowledges the legal bond of nationality. There have been numerous positive developments in international law since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which established that “everyone has the right to a nationality”. Yet today it is estimated that as many as 15 million people remain stateless. They range from individuals to entire religious or ethnic groups and the reasons why people are stateless range from the accidental to deliberate persecution.

The FMR Editors are looking for practice-oriented submissions, reflecting a diverse range of opinions, which address questions such as the following:

• Is statelessness a significant phenomenon in the modern world? Is it under-recognised? And if so, why? Who are the stateless people? How are they identified?
• What are the experiences of living in a state but without the rights of citizens? What are the human costs of statelessness? How does statelessness affect human development across the lifespan? Does statelessness have a different impact on women, men and children?
• Given the multiple causes for people to be stateless, is there just one kind of statelessness? Does statelessness cause forced migration or forced migration lead to statelessness? Is there a link between trafficking and statelessness? Can ‘stranded migrants’ be considered stateless? How does statelessness affect the search for durable solutions?
• What are the policies of relevant international institutions in relation to stateless people? Are they changing and, if so, how and why? What is the role of the international humanitarian community in filling the protection gap affecting stateless people? What strategies can be used to ensure that people who were formerly stateless are fully integrated in society?
• What steps do development agencies and anti-poverty campaigns employ to ensure inclusion of stateless persons?
• What recourse do stateless people have? What examples are there of people collectively advocating to achieve citizenship?
• Nationality being conferred by States, what tools does the international community have to challenge laws and policies which give rise to statelessness? What tools can be used to prevent statelessness and how successfully have they been used?
• What approaches are being taken by international institutions to resolve specific or general situations of statelessness? What role can birth registration and issuance of personal identity documents play in prevention and reduction strategies?
• What does it mean in practical terms that everyone has the right to a nationality under Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Is it possible to end statelessness around the world? What kinds of remedies are there for statelessness? What examples are there of successful legal cases to win citizenship? What are the legal fora where this can happen?
• Are there any advantages to being stateless?

We are keen to reflect the experiences and knowledge of communities and individuals affected by statelessness.

Deadline for submission of articles: 6th October 2008.

Maximum length: 2,500 words. Further information for FMR authors is at: www.fmreview.org/writing.htm.

Please write to us if you are interested in contributing or have suggestions of colleagues who may be able to. If you could help disseminate information about this issue – and/or copies when printed – we would very much like to hear from you.

We encourage readers to send us written contributions on any aspect of contemporary forced migration. Each issue of FMR has a feature theme but at least a third of each issue is set aside for 'non-theme' articles.

Please contact the Editors at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk

FMR is totally dependent on grant income. We need £50,000 / $102,000 / €75,000 to cover the design, translation, print and distribution costs of this issue in English, French, Arabic and Spanish.We would be very grateful for any advice you can give as to which agencies you think we could approach for a partial contribution towards these costs.

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