Europe’s Statelessness: Forgotten Past and Unsettling Future

Date: 8 October 2024. 19:00-20:30 

Location: Corvinus University Building C C.105 

Language of the event: English 

Statelessness intersects with the most prominent challenges of today: it is simultaneously a problem in human rights, minority rights, child protection, development, justice and democracy, forced displacement, torture and inhumane treatment, racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. It disproportionately affects the marginalized and vulnerable populations. 45% of all stateless people are estimated to be children. The problem is growing as children born into statelessness consistently outpace stateless people successfully resolving their statelessness, especially in recent years. 

In the long-term, statelessness undermines democracy and the rule of law, fragments society, violates civil liberties, creates a barrier to access justice, and puts to question the nation-state model of governance.  

It entails disentrancement from the right to have rights, with people being denied basic rights and forsaken in a vicious cycle of vulnerability and unequal treatment. The stateless face many challenges, such as in accessing education, healthcare, freedom of movement, and the right to own property. Many are denied basic documents (birth, marriage, death certificates, travel documents, etc.), and are vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention.

Given the widespread ubiquity of statelessness and its gravity, why is it, then, that the topic is poorly known? Even in Europe, a continent where state actors have repeatedly caused and maintained mass statelessness over the last century to this day, the topic is buried away from the public. This guest lecture is meant to explore these issues and shed light on the causes and challenges of statelessness, shedding light on the overlooked subject. 

The event is organized by the Department of International Relations, Institute of Global Studies and the Apatride Network with the support of the UNHCR.