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GRF-07599 |
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submitted/soumis: 04.12.2023 |
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Individual pledge |
Engagement individuel |
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Access to nationality of stateless children |
Accès à la nationalité des enfants apatrides |
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In addition to its pledges of 2019 to promote accession of Council of Europe member States to the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166) and the Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession (CETS No. 200) and to conduct, in close co-operation with UNHCR, support activities for its member States on the functioning of statelessness determination procedures, the protection of stateless persons as provided for in international law and access of stateless persons to their rights, the Council of Europe, through its European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), will focus on issues pertaining to the statelessness of children and their access to nationality. To this end, within the framework of the decisions taken by its Committee of Ministers and of available resources, the CDCJ will develop: a) a compendium of good practices in respect of legal aid and representation, access to information and to justice for children in procedures relating to the determination of nationality or statelessness (work completion end 2025); and b) a non-legally binding instrument regarding stateless children’s access to nationality, including guidance on child-sensitive procedures relating to the determination of nationality or statelessness, based on the outcome of a feasibility study to be carried out (work completion end 2026). |
Outre ses engagements pris en 2019 visant à promouvoir l'adhésion des États membres du Conseil de l'Europe à la Convention européenne sur la nationalité (STE n° 166) et à la Convention sur la prévention des cas d'apatridie en relation avec la succession d'États (CETS n° 200) et à mener, en étroite coopération avec le HCR, des activités de soutien à ses États membres sur le fonctionnement des procédures de détermination de l'apatridie, la protection des apatrides prévue par le droit international et l'accès des apatrides à leurs droits, le Conseil de l'Europe, par l'intermédiaire de son Comité européen de coopération juridique (CDCJ), se concentrera sur les questions relatives à l'apatridie des enfants et à leur accès à la nationalité. À cette fin, dans le cadre des décisions prises par son Comité des Ministres et des ressources disponibles, le CDCJ élaborera : a) un recueil de bonnes pratiques en matière d'aide juridique et de représentation, d'accès à l'information et à la justice pour les enfants dans les procédures relatives à la détermination de la nationalité ou de l'apatridie (achèvement des travaux fin 2025) ; et b) un instrument non contraignant sur l'accès des enfants apatrides à la nationalité, comprenant des orientations sur les procédures adaptées aux enfants en matière de détermination de la nationalité ou de l'apatridie, sur la base des résultats d'une étude de faisabilité à réaliser (achèvement des travaux fin 2026). |
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Reporting on progress, March 2025 |
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Summary |
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The CoE considers as a priority the need to ensure the effective enjoyment of human rights by vulnerable persons, including statelessness people. The lack of nationality has a serious impact on one’s access to education, employment, healthcare, housing, and freedom of movement. The CoE has taken actions to assist member states to address this issue, with a focus on children. |
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Brief description of the steps taken in implementing the pledge |
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The international conference Statelessness and the right to a nationality in Europe: Progress, challenges and opportunities was organised jointly by CoE and UNHCR in 2021, based on the CoE European Committee on Legal Co-operation CDCJ Analysis of practices and challenges regarding the avoidance and reduction of statelessness in Europe (2019). During the period 2024 -2026 the CoE is also focusing on issues relating to the statelessness of children and their access to nationality. A CDCJ limited working group on migration, CDCJ-MIG, was established at the end of 2023 (for a period of January 2024 to December 2026) to assist the CDCJ in carrying out its mandate on statelessness and access to nationality, specifically concerning children. The working group is made up of experts with specific knowledge of law, policy and practice in the field of statelessness and access to nationality, in particular in respect of minors. The specific tasks of the CDCJ-MIG are as follows: - Preparing a compendium of good practices in respect of legal aid and representation, access to information and to justice for children in procedures relating to the determination of nationality or statelessness; finalisation of the compendium by CDCJ-MIG is scheduled for end of 2025, with an adoption by the CDCJ by end of 2025. - Preparing a draft non-binding legal instrument on stateless children’s access to nationality based on a feasibility study. This draft should include guidance on child-sensitive procedures relating to the determination of nationality or statelessness. This work is expected to be finalised by CDCJ-MIG in 2026 and approved by the CDCJ by the end of 2026. In 2024, the CDCJ-MIG met twice (May and September). The working group held a hearing of statelessness advocates having experienced statelessness in their childhood and carried out a survey amongst CoE member states with a view to collecting information on procedures governing statelessness and acquisition of nationality. In light of these results, the CDCJ-MIG elaborated a draft feasibility study for a non-binding legal instrument on access to nationality for stateless children and a draft compendium on good practice. At its 103rd plenary meeting (November-December 2024), the CDCJ examined and adopted the feasibility study and agreed to revise Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)13 on the nationality of children and complement it with a checklist for policy makers by the end of 2026. In June 2024, a multistakeholder meeting on Statelessness and children was jointly organised by the CDCJ and the European Migration Network (EMN). The meeting served as an opportunity to share good practices and identify challenges in the prevention of child statelessness and access to nationality for stateless children. It brought together experienced stakeholders from different backgrounds, both institutional and civil society. The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) continued close cooperation with UNHCR, participating in the High-level Segment on Statelessness and the official launch of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, held in October 2024 in Geneva (Switzerland) during the 75th Session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He presented activities undertaken by CoE through its CDCJ-MIG. The SRSG continued to exchange with the European Network on Statelessness – a civil society alliance of organisations and individuals working to promote the right to a nationality in Europe, contributing to the work of the CDCJ. |
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The impact of the pledge |
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The implementation of the pledge remains one of the goals of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025) The CoE’s 46 member states decided on a workplan to make further progress towards eliminating statelessness through concrete actions. The pledge, implemented through the work carried out by the CoE CDCJ and CDCJ_MIG, will strengthen the capacity of national authorities to create a more efficient legal and practical environment to tackle statelessness, especially as regards children. It will contribute to the full enjoyment by stateless children of human rights including education, healthcare, housing and political participation. The CoE CDCJ was working on a compendium of good practice on legal aid and representation, access to information and to justice for children in procedures relating to the determination of nationality or statelessness. Its aim is to assist member states in finding ways to improve their procedures to avoid statelessness among children. Work on the non-binding legal instrument regarding stateless children’s access to nationality (revision of existing Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)13 on the nationality of children) started in 2025 on the basis of the feasibility study adopted at the end of 2024. Additionally, a practical tool for policy makers will be drafted based on this instrument. As highlighted in the above-mentioned feasibility study, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which considers nationality as relevant to a person’s social identity as part of the enjoyment of the right to private and family life, continues to be relevant. |
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Beneficiaries reached |
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National authorities of Council of Europe member states will benefit from the work carried out by the CDCJ and CDCJ_MIG. The international community through the Global Alliance to End Statelessness which the Council of Europe joined as a solution seekers because of its ongoing work on stateless children. |
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Links to relevant content |
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Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)13 on the nationality of children CoE European Committee on Legal Co-Operation CDCJ CoE Working Group of the CDCJ on migration CDCJ_MIG Multistakeholder meeting on statelessness and children (CDCJ-EMN) Statelessness and the right to a nationality in Europe: Progress, challenges and opportunities |
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Involvement of refugees |
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At its first meeting (30-31 May 2024), the CDCJ-MIG held a hearing of statelessness advocates having experienced statelessness in their childhood. Findings of this event have been included in the feasibility study and will be taken into account in the drafting of a non-binding instrument. |
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