MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR With a new European Parliament and Commission about to take office, now is a pivotal moment for us to step up our call for bold action on statelessness if Europe is to continue its traditions of freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights. During 2018 we grew our staff team to five and our membership to over 140, now covering 40 countries across Europe. It is particularly exciting to have welcomed several community-led organisations to our Network. Working alongside stateless people to inform and deliver our mission is a key pillar of our new five-year strategy as we seek to strengthen and diversify the voices speaking out on statelessness. The development of our 2019-23 strategic plan ‘Solving Statelessness in Europe’ was crafted in close consultation with staff, trustees and members and was a key output over the last 12 months. The process was also informed by an external evaluation of our work to date which found that we have filled a critical gap in mobilising key actors and quickly established ourselves as a respected, credible and effective voice. CHRIS NASH, DIRECTOR As outlined in this impact report, 2018 was a busy and important year for us in transitioning to our new strategy while delivering a wide range of projects and launching our Statelessness Index. Approaching the half-way point of the UN Refugee Agency’s ambitious ten-year #IBelong campaign to eradicate statelessness globally, now is also an opportune time to reflect on what remains to be done in our region. Ultimately, we want to see a Europe where all states have effective legal frameworks in place to protect stateless people and prevent new cases of statelessness arising. This will not be easy against a political landscape increasingly characterised by antimigrant sentiment, securitisation and enforcement. But guided by our new strategic plan and propelled by the energy and commitment of our members and supporters we are well placed to build on our success to date in achieving law and policy reform necessary to improve the lives of stateless men, women and children across Europe. Thank you for your continuing support. WHO WE ARE We are a civil society alliance of organisations and individual experts committed to tackling statelessness in Europe. We currently have over 140 members in 40 countries and are the only pan-regional network dedicated to working on statelessness in Europe. The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) was founded as a coordinating body and expert resource for organisations working to promote the right to a nationality. At the heart of our strategy is an understanding of the need to mainstream and raise awareness about statelessness and nationality rights, build civil society’s capacity to act, and be an effective catalyst for change. Our small but dedicated London-based Secretariat coordinates the activities of our growing and diverse membership across Europe ranging from large international NGOs to grassroots and community organisations, legal advice agencies, as well as research and policy specialists. OUR MISSION Everyone has the right to a nationality We believe this must be respected and that the human rights of people who lack a nationality – stateless people – must be protected. We are dedicated to working with stateless people in Europe to advocate for their rights. We aim to reach our goals through law and policy development, awareness-raising, and capacity-building.