Backgrounds and Concepts on Statelessness

This supplementary reader presents articles on statelessness that address this human rights issue from a philosophical or practical-political point of view. The texts complement the geographically oriented Atlas of the Stateless.

Contents

• Rethinking Birthright

  In the United States, two powerful myths—a person’s birthplace and their ancestry—are the basis of citizenship, of being an American. For immigrants, though, US citizenship law is fraught with injustices and dangers.
  By Stephanie DeGooyer

• The Foundation of All Rights

  Dignity is the inherent equal worth of every person, everywhere. It travels with us everywhere we go. It cannot be lost. Dignity demands that, no matter what, everyone should be treated as a person.
  By Erin Daly and James R. May

• Protecting the Vulnerable

  The rights to life, liberty and personal security mean little if you have nothing to live on. Social security includes unemployment benefits, health insurance, pensions, as well as access to housing, education and clean water. It is the state’s duty to ensure stateless people have these. It is in society’s own interest too.
  By Ulrike Lauerhaß and Eva Wuchold

• The Idea of Belonging

  Western culture contains strands of cold rationalism that regards relationships as business transactions, as well as inwardlooking localism that places the homeland on a pedestal but views outsiders with xenophobic suspicion. These are unsuited to modern society where people from many backgrounds find themselves living as neighbours. Instead, we need an ethic that welcomes strangers.
  By Rachid Boutayeb