02/09/2026
This week marks 65 years of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Despite this Convention, millions of people worldwide, many of them children, still live without a nationality, and the true number is unknown. Statelessness persists because of gaps in nationality laws, gender discrimination, and even arbitrary deprivation of nationality.
All European countries have a responsibility under international law to protect stateless people and prevent statelessness. However, many have not turned this commitment into concrete laws or policies, leaving people in limbo, some for generations.
But statelessness is solvable. It requires political will, and it also requires a “whole of society” approach to raise awareness and push for change. And where legal safeguards do exist, stateless communities and individuals need to know how to access them.
Today, our Vice Chair Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok moderated a high-level panel discussion organised by Global Alliance to End Statelessness, marking 65 years of the Convention, reflecting on progress made and ongoing challenges, and exploring pathways to end statelessness.
We heard from various speakers, including Global Movement Against Statelessness’s Sihle Nxumalo and Christy Chitengu, who shared their lived expertise and emphasised the importance of collective action and working with stateless people and communities to find solutions to statelessness.
Every person has the right to a nationality. Nationality is a gateway to the enjoyment of rights and enables people to participate fully in society.
As we mark the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, we recognize and amplify the voices of stateless leaders and community advocates driving change and advancing solutions to statelessness worldwide.
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