PILnet is proud to announce its membership in the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, a move that strengthens our commitment to advancing access to rights, justice, and solutions for stateless individuals worldwide.
In a world where citizenship is often taken for granted, millions of people remain stateless—denied the fundamental rights that define human dignity. Statelessness is not just a legal anomaly; it is a profound human rights crisis. At PILnet, we believe legal systems must serve everyone, including those without a nationality. We seek to leverage our global public interest law network to empower stateless individuals and dismantle the barriers they face.
At the last Global Refugee Forum (GRF), we led efforts to coordinate a second multi-stakeholder GRF Legal Community Pledge, mobilizing over 1 million hours of free legal assistance for displaced and stateless people, as well as the organizations led by and working with them. In addition, we contributed to the Ending Statelessness pledge, by committing to mobilize legal networks to advance justice and solutions for stateless individuals.
Joining the Global Alliance to End Statelessness is a natural progression of our commitment to collective action. The Alliance’s coordinated approach and focus on centering the voices of stateless individuals resonate deeply with our values. This partnership offers an opportunity to connect our legal networks with national, regional, and global efforts to close the legal and policy gaps that perpetuate statelessness.
Through our participation in the Alliance, we aim to:
- Raise awareness and build capacity within the legal community, by engaging legal professionals to champion the cause of statelessness.
- Broker pro bono legal assistance for organizations led by or supporting stateless individuals, empowering them to challenge discriminatory laws and secure documentation and legal status.
- Support operational legal needs for non-profits working with stateless populations, by matching them with free legal assistance that allow them to operate effectively and sustainability.
- Promote strategic litigation and advocacy to drive systemic change for stateless individuals worldwide.
As a first step toward turning these commitments into action, PILnet was proud to host the launch of UNHCR and Open Society Justice Initiative Litigating the Right to a Nationality: A Guide for Practitioners at its 2024 PILnet Global Forum. The Guide provides resources for practitioners—especially lawyers, but including stateless people and others advocating on their behalf—to develop strategies to use litigation to achieve progress towards the realisation of the right to a nationality for all. PILnet will continue partnering with UNHCR to promote the guide’s use within the legal community and to share additional resources aimed at strengthening strategic litigation and advocacy efforts.
Together with the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, we envision a world where everyone enjoys the right to a nationality without discrimination. By joining forces, we can consign statelessness to history and restore dignity and justice to millions of lives.
