Why the Global Alliance and why together?
*This piece is an extract from a filmed interview conducted in December 2023.
Ten years ago, statelessness was almost invisible, despite the scale of the problem and the devastating impact. Millions of people worldwide were (and still are) living without a nationality. Thanks to UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign and the efforts of civil society, statelessness is now firmly on the agenda. But we need to launch the Global Alliance now to catch and continue that momentum. I think that is critically important.
At its heart, the Global Alliance is about convening, catalyzing, and capacitating. That is exactly what we at the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) do as a civil society network working to address statelessness in Europe. We bring together our member organizations and stateless activists in 40 European countries as a catalyst for change and we help build their capacity to take action.
As a member of the Global Alliance Taskforce, it has been an honour to help set up the foundational elements of the Global Alliance, its mission statement, terms of reference and modalities of working. I am now really excited to continue to be part of the Global Alliance and to translate these ideas into action.
Firstly, I think the Global Alliance is a critical opportunity to put stateless people at the centre and ensure that they can claim power as leaders of change. Secondly, I am really excited by the opportunity to share our learning and expertise with sister networks and partners in other regions, as well as to learn from them. For example, through regional network labs. And thirdly, I think the Global Alliance is a critical opportunity to attract donors to this cause. Without adequate resourcing we won’t be able to translate our ambitious ideas into action.
At ENS, we often say that we are only as strong as our members and the same is true for the Global Alliance. Only by pulling together all relevant stakeholders in a committed and collaborative spirit, will it be possible to achieve the ambitious goal of ending statelessness. Only by adopting a truly multi-stakeholder approach can the Global Alliance put in all the know-how, experience and resourcing necessary to achieve its objectives.
Ultimately, statelessness is a human-made problem, which means that we as people and in our professional capacities have the power to change it. In that respect, it is different from some other existential challenges facing humanity. And I don’t mean that in a naive way, or to underestimate the challenge involved, but I think working on statelessness as an issue does offer hope. Because change is achievable, and it is in sight. Working together in a collaborative way and with sufficient buy-in from the UN, governments, and donors, I really believe that the Global Alliance can make a significant contribution towards ending statelessness.
21 April 2026
Strategic Advocacy for the Right to Nationality through the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
At the International Center for Supporting Rights and Freedoms (ICSRF), we consider the right to nationality one of the most fundamental human rights, no less important than the right to life. Based on this principle, and since joining the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, ICSRF has worked to ensure that statelessness risks are consistently taken into account within international human rights mechanisms, particularly the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
Read more9 April 2026
Churches Have a Responsibility to Act Against Statelessness
Churches and faith-based organizations have a moral responsibility and an important role to play in preventing and reducing statelessness. Drawing on their moral voice, community presence, and long-standing commitment to social justice, churches are well placed to support practical actions that protect vulnerable people and help ensure every person has a nationality.
In Liberia, Church Aid, Inc., together with its partners, has demonstrated this potential in practice. Through community-based initiatives to support birth registration, more than 20,000 children were able to obtain birth certificates, reducing their risk of statelessness and exclusion.
For many churches, engagement on statelessness is grounded in scripture and faith. The Bible reminds us not to oppress the foreigner, because we ourselves know what it means to be vulnerable. It calls believers to show hospitality to strangers and to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. When people are hurting, the church has a responsibility to bring relief. A Christianity that ignores injustice and suffering does not reflect the character or mission of Christ.
Stateless persons are no exception.
Read more5 December 2025
Latin American and Caribbean Civil Registration Week: An Initiative Ensuring Identity for All
The Latin American and Caribbean Council for Civil Registration, Identity, and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV) is the organization behind the campaign “Latin American and Caribbean Civil Registration Week,” held from September 1 to 16, 2025, and which sought to safeguard the fundamental right to identity.
Under the slogan “Latin America and the Caribbean, a region without invisible people: identity for all!”, CLARCIEV intensified its efforts to register births, covering both children and adults who still lacked a birth certificate. As a result of the campaign a total of 32,177 birth registrations were performed.
Read more