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Stateless-led Answer to Statelessness

We advance the rights of stateless people in the EU and beyond.

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About Apatride Network

Apatride Network is run by stateless people for stateless people, providing ground-level expertise on statelessness and working to advance human rights in the European Union and beyond. We raise awareness of statelessness, challenge harmful misconceptions, and empower stateless people as active participants rather than mere objects of discussion. Our work includes advocacy, legal assistance, awareness-raising programmes, and impact-driven projects that remove barriers faced by stateless people, refugees, exiles, and other disadvantaged populations.

The European Union estimates 399,283 people that are “determined stateless or of undetermined nationality” on its territory. Most are de facto Europeans, by birth as well as ancestry, being deprived of an equal right to nationality based on discrimination or bureaucratic inadequacies beyond own control. The available data is a bare minimum estimate: the visibility of the issue remains poor due to lack of accountability of state actors that cause and maintain statelessness, power imbalances in narratives, and lack of representation of affected populations.

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Our International Engagements

From advocacy to innovation, Apatride Network works to address key gaps on statelessness, developing solutions shaped by lived experience and direct understanding of the issue. Our work is primarily focused on the EU, with selected global engagement.

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Awareness Forum
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Awareness Forum
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/ Our Track Record

Voicing Statelessness, Driving Impact

From our humble beginning we built a stateless-led organisation that: secured the removal of barriers to the vocational inclusion of stateless people at UNHCR; influenced European banking regulations to be more accommodating to refugees and stateless people; played a leading role in Czech court cases that opened a dignified pathway out of statelessness for Europe’s largest stateless community; launched SAF(E), an annual international forum on statelessness; piloted the Global Statelessness Fund that now provides funding for over 50 stateless-led organisations and advocates globally; launched the first international award dedicated to statelessness work; and more. 

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/ Activities and Updates

Ongoing Initiatives

Stay informed with the latest developments in our fight for the rights of stateless people across Europe and beyond.

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News and Updates

Apatride Network

5 days ago

Apatride Network
It was a privilege for Apatride Network to take part in another call with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency High Commissioner, Mr. Barham Salih, as part of a global delegation of leading experts on statelessness.The growing involvement of stateless-led organisations in high-level consultations is already palpable, strengthening our optimism and motivation about what can be achieved through this shift. It was encouraging to see stateless-led organisations centred and recognised as leaders of change in their own right. We appreciate the increased attention being given to the often-overlooked human rights issue of statelessness and to the vital role of ground-level expertise in addressing it.These changes are long overdue and essential to developing realistic, practical solutions to the challenges faced by stateless people. “Nothing about us without us” must be upheld as a guiding principle in practice, rather than treated as a mere catchphrase. Of particular interest is the move towards self-sufficiency models that reduce dependence on intermediaries and strengthen the involvement, resourcing, and autonomy of stateless-led organisations.A special thank you to our partners who spoke warmly about Apatride Network and our work, including our previous role on UNHCR’s Advisory Board of Organisations Led by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless People, and to European Network on Statelessness for facilitating the planning and coordination of the meeting.We look forward to future such meetings and to concrete cooperation on shared priorities, initiatives, and projects. The fulfilment and realisation of these in practice can truly make stateless lives more liveable. Thank you to all the colleagues for the wonderful call. ... See MoreSee Less

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Trusted Allies in Our Mission

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/ Testimonials

Attestations of Support

Hear from those who know us best about Apatride Network’s impact and difference-making.

Apatride Network is one of the few international organisations that doesn't just work on statelessness, but works with stateless people (a crucial difference!). Their commitment to including stateless individuals directly in the projects that concern them is remarkable, with real potential for growth and positive change in policy and legislation. People with citizenship rarely realise the struggles faced by those considered invisible; Apatride Network makes these issues, and these people, visible and recognised.
Armando Augello Cupi
Armando Augello Cupi Founder of Unione Italiana Apolidi
The Apatride Network has been a key partner in the OPU's efforts to support stateless persons in Czechia. Thanks to our collaboration, we have received valuable expertise and support, which has helped us achieve significant progress, including positive case law that strengthens the protection of stateless individuals. We value our partnership with the Apatride Network and look forward to working together to protect stateless persons.
The Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU)
The Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU)
I am very grateful to the Apatride Network team for their help with my statelessness case. I know that without their help my chances for success were really low. It’s so valuable that there are people in our society who genuinely help others in difficult situations.
Tatjana Ribakova
Tatjana Ribakova
We are pleased to partner with the Apatride Network, which plays a vital and unique role in Europe. As one of the only stateless-led, pan-European networks focused on addressing statelessness, it brings essential lived experience and perspective to the forefront. Its leadership, advocacy, and collaboration are crucial to shaping more inclusive and effective responses to statelessness across the region.
Sam Mosallai
Sam MosallaiLegal Officer (Statelessness), UNHCR
The Apatride Network has been a key partner and an invaluable supporter of our Childoc initiative to prevent childhood statelessness across the EU. Their expertise and energy in raising awareness, sharing knowledge, and building meaningful connections between organisations and initiatives are truly inspiring and were a driving force in shaping our own strategy. At a time when more and more communities around the world are being stripped of their homelands or denied their nationality rights through legal and administrative barriers, Apatride’s tireless advocacy and commitment to placing lived experience at the heart of their work are exactly what can drive meaningful change - from the ground up.
LegalHub
LegalHub
Apatride Network is a real change-maker in the field of statelessness. It not only created an unprecedented forum for an extremely diverse group of stateless and previously stateless people in Europe, but also developed innovative forms of combining the power of ’lived experience’ with that of learned knowledge to further the struggle against this painful human rights violation in the region.
Gabor Gyulai
Gabor GyulaiOrganisational Development Director, Hungarian Helsinki Committee
I would like to express my gratitude and respect to Apatride Network for all the help, legal, informational and psychological support when I had to struggle with the difficulties of life due to the war in Ukraine. I would especially like to mention involvement of Apatride Network's founder, Alexey Ivashuk, who was constantly in touch with me, promptly and quickly assisted me in complex issues, solving legal problems and providing information support.
Dmytro Tsybizov
Dmytro TsybizovUkrainian stateless person with a 32-year history of statelessness.
Apatride Network’s pan-European reach is so valuable – connecting people affected by statelessness to lead and push for change. It helps shine a light on overlooked issues and raises awareness in places where it’s badly needed.
Laura Van Waas
Laura Van WaasCo-Director, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion
In the statelessness sector, the voices of stateless people remain underrepresented, this is why organisations like Apatride Network EU are essential in this work. Events like SAF(E) create space for professionals with lived experience to connect and for new allies to engage. What I valued most about SAF(E) was meeting students and younger generations – raising awareness early is key to building a more inclusive future.
Christiana Bukalo
Christiana BukaloCo-Founder, Statefree e.V.
Apatride Network redresses the power imbalance in favour of those who are stateless and formerly stateless, helping to centre their voices, needs, and rights. Their initiatives are grounded in the need for practical, effective change that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of those who are stateless, sooner rather than later.
Radha Govil
Radha GovilDeputy Director, Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness

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