Sixty years ago the UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was adopted in order to prevent and reduce statelessness. Currently, there are still 10 million people around the world, even in the Netherlands, that are not officially recognized as a citizen in a country. This concerns people that do not have a nationality and are therefore stateless. The consequences of being stateless can be dramatic, because this prevents people of being able to invoke their basic rights.

About the speakers

For years, photographer Greg Constatine has visualized stateless persons over the world and had the chance to get a close look into their lives. This evening he will inform you about his work. René Bruin, UNHCR Nederland Head of Office, will give a lecture on statelessness. Also, several stateless persons will be present to tell their story. At 19:30 dr. Laura van Waal, researcher at Tilburg University, will give a short introduction on statelessness to the representatives of the press.

This meeting is the kick off of the First Global Forum on Statelessness, which will take place between 15-17 September in the Peace Palace,The Hague. This international congress is organized by Statelessness Program of Tilburg University and the UNHCR.

Picture: UNHCR / G. Amarasinghe