What does it mean to be stateless?

The cases of the ISIS brides Shamima Begum (in the UK) and Hodia Muthana (in the US) and discussions about whether they should be allowed to return to their home countries or not have been hitting the headlines as of late. Respective government reactions (Home Secretary Sajid Javid has revoked Begum’s nationality while President Trump has directed his Secretary of State to not allow Muthana back) have prompted international discussions about statelessness. What does it mean to be stateless and how should national and international bodies react?

According to international law, a stateless person is someone who is “not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law”. Although most high-profile examples are people like Begum who have had their nationality revoked by their countries, these are actually a minority of all statelessness cases. And there are a lot of them. In November 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said that there are about 12 million stateless people in the world.

administrative issues led to many people falling through the cracks and becoming stateless

Many large-scale situations of statelessness result from discrimination. Many states define their body of citizens based on ethnicity, which leads to the exclusion of large minority groups in the country (the Rohingya in Myanmar are the most famous example). Populations can also suffer as a consequence of state succession – their state of nationality may cease to exist or the territory could come under control of another state. This heavily impacted Eastern Europe after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, as administrative issues led to many people falling through the cracks and becoming stateless.

If you’ve ever seen The Terminal, this situation may seem familiar. The film sees Tom Hanks play a man whose country collapses during a flight. When he lands in America, he finds that his passport is no longer valid, rendering him trapped in the airport. This case is actually based on a real one. Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in the departure lounge of Charles de Gaulle airport’s Terminal One for 18 years after he lost his documents during his travel to France. He was trapped. He had legally entered the country but had no legal permission to enter France, leaving him in a state of limbo.

Albert Einstein was famously stateless between 1896 to 1901

Although statelessness can be a voluntary choice in rare cases (Albert Einstein was famously stateless between 1896 to 1901, after renouncing his Germany citizenship and eventually becoming Swiss), it is normally a circumstance beyond the control of an individual. Lacking nationality is incredibly serious. According to the UNHCR, those without a nationality “often aren’t allowed to go to school, see a doctor, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married”.

The international community has attempted to respond to statelessness. Two UN Conventions on Statelessness in 1954 and 1961 laid out basic principles of human rights for those without a nationality. According to David Baluarte, Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University, “that legal protection exists so states that are stripping people of nationality and leaving them stateless are violating law.” There is also an extra precedent in the US. The 1958 Supreme Court case Trop v. Dulles ruled that it was unconstitutional to revoke citizenship and make someone stateless as punishment for a crime.

many are now asking if such laws are unfit for dealing with contemporary situations

These statelessness laws were initially devised, in part, in response to Nazi Germany’s stripping Jews of their citizenship. However, in the case of the ISIS brides, many are now asking if such laws are unfit for dealing with contemporary situations. Having a nationality is an internationally recognised human right. However, many commentators and politicians are concerned that the right for Begum or Muthana to return to their respective countries would impinge upon the rights of other citizens. Muthana’s father was also a diplomat whose status at the time of her birth is subject to doubt, leading to a war of words between the US and Yemen, neither of which want to take her.

It is unlikely that issues linked to statelessness will be solved any time soon, although it’s possible the cases of Begum and Muthana will force the topic into the headlines for long enough to prompt another look at the laws. No matter your opinion of these girls, there is still one major question hanging over this story – if they’re rendered stateless, where are they going to go?