2 1 BUILDING FOR IMPACT: ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS Among the millions of stateless people worldwide it is estimated that there are more than 600,000 in Europe alone. Although many European states have ratified the relevant international instruments, they lack effective national frameworks to deal with statelessness. This has left many individuals vulnerable to discrimination and human rights abuse. Stateless people face numerous difficulties in their daily lives: they can lack access to health care, education, employment, property rights and the ability to move freely across borders, leaving many destitute and abandoned on the margins of their societies. It may be impossible to get married, open a bank account or get a driving license – many of the things that most people take for granted. In a remarkably short space of time, ENS has mobilized a wide array of civil society actors, to work collaboratively to address statelessness in Europe. Harnessing the diversity of expertise and the impressive reach of the network’s members, ENS has succeeded in translating research into advocacy tools and actions aimed at achieving change. LAURA VAN WAAS, CO-DIRECTOR AT THE INSTITUTE ON STATELESSNESS AND INCLUSION While statelessness occurs for a variety of reasons – discrimination against minority groups, issues regarding state succession, conflicts of laws between states, or even deliberate policies by states to deny or strip people of nationality – it is essential that Europe recognises and addresses this issue if it is to uphold its traditions of freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE WORK Statelessness is a major human rights problem in Europe, yet for far too long it was ignored, with relatively little known about its causes, consequences and who it affects. raise awareness about statelessness and nationality issues, to build the capacity of civil society to take action, and to act as an effective catalyst for change. The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) is a young and vibrant civil society alliance of over 100 nongovernmental organisations, academics and individual experts in 40 countries, committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. We believe that everyone has the right to a nationality and that those who lack nationality altogether – stateless persons – are entitled to full protection of their human rights. During 2016 we’ve further increased our profile and impact, leading civil society efforts to address statelessness in Europe and translating this into protection for those affected. We remain dedicated to strengthening the often unheard voices of stateless men, women and children in Europe. ENS was founded to act as a coordinating body and expert resource for organisations working to end statelessness in Europe. At the heart of our strategy has been an understanding of the need to mainstream and Our thematic priorities include children – ending childhood statelessness, access to justice – protecting stateless people from arbitrary detention, forced displacement – adopting comprehensive systems that protect and regularise stateless migrants and anti-discrimination – preventing statelessness among minority populations.