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.
3 November 2025
One Year On: The Movement’s Journey Within the Global Alliance to End Statelessness
Proximity and privilege deeply shape whose voices are heard in the global struggle to end statelessness. For millions of stateless people, barriers such as geography, limited resources, and lack of access to documentation mean exclusion not only from their governments but also from the global humanitarian and advocacy spaces that claim to represent them. Meanwhile, those with passports and institutional power often move freely within international systems that remain inaccessible to the very people they aim to serve.
Read more18 June 2025
Ensuring Vocational Inclusion for Stateless Individuals
Stateless individuals face daily obstacles in accessing basic services – whether opening a bank account, booking travel, or securing employment. One often overlooked but fundamental barrier is the absence of a “stateless” or “undefined” nationality option in digital forms and application systems. Without it, individuals are frequently forced to enter inaccurate information or abandon applications altogether. Employers, including legal and HR teams, are often unsure how to process applications from individuals without nationality, even when they have the legal right to work. This lack of clarity and inclusion in administrative systems contributes – often unintentionally – to vocational exclusion.
An encouraging step forward came in August 2024, when UNHCR became the first UN agency to update its recruitment platform to accommodate stateless applicants. This progress followed sustained engagement by the stateless-led organization Apatride Network, whose advocacy helped identify and address technical barriers in the application process, that previously prevented stateless people from applying. In collaboration with its legal and human resources teams, UNHCR resolved the dropdown menu issue and clarified internal procedures – creating a more inclusive and accessible path for stateless candidates.
Read more22 October 2024
Ensuring the Resources to End Statelessness Together
The financial resourcing of statelessness research is one of the most challenging aspects of our work. Funders have heard of many other human right issues but, due to the often-unseen nature of statelessness, it remains an outlier. As a result, it is difficult for donors who are hearing about the issue for the first time to believe that such a problem can exist in the 21st century, let alone get to the point that they are convinced that this is an area that is worthy of their funding support.
As members of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, we are committed to collaborative, coordinated action. This means helping ensure that we have the financial and other resources needed to catalyse and accelerate positive change. We believe that statelessness is solvable through a well-resourced whole-of-society approach.
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