FRONTIERS RIGHTS SEEKING NATIONALITY THE JUDICIAL ODYSSEY OF APPLICANTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ruwad al-Houkouk FR (Frontiers Rights in English) extends its thanks to the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for their funding and support of this study. The views elaborated in the study reflect those of the Association only and can in no way be attributed to the abovementioned funding organizations. We thank everyone who helped in the research and production of this study. Our appreciation goes to the Association’s legal team who reviewed our legal representation files and compiled the required information and data. SEEKING NATIONALITY | GLOSSARY We would like to express our special thanks to Dr. Abdo Younes for writing the foreword, and to our colleagues Sarah Wansa and Lawyer Youmna Makhlouf who along with Dr. Abdo reviewed the Arabic version of the study before its translation to English. A special thanks goes to the stateless persons who trusted us to work on their judicial files and consented to use their data without mentioning their names. Finally, the Association would like to thank the German artist and painter Felix Dolah who offered the cover drawing in recognition of the Association’s efforts to serve the cause of the stateless individuals in Lebanon and the scientific output the Association produces in this regard. This study aims to highlight the obstacles faced by stateless individuals when seeking judicial remedy to end their statelessness a matter that leads to the prevalence and exacerbation of this phenomenon from generation to generation and leaving them helpless and doomed to live in the shadow without any rights. The Association hopes this study would guide the authorities and all stakeholders to consider statelessness as their top priority and to look for appropriate and adequate solutions to combat and end this phenomenon. SAMIRA TRAD Research Director 8