João Arsénio de Oliveira is the recent elected Chair of the European Committee on Legal Co-operation of the Council of Europe (CDCJ). João Arsénio de Oliveira is the European Affairs Co-ordinator and Head of the Department for International Co-operation of the Ministry of Justice of Portugal. He also acts as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference of the Ministers of Justice of the Portuguese Speaking Countries. He previously worked as Legal Advisor in the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Andreas Wissner has been UNHCR’s Representative to the European Institutions in Strasbourg since 2020. Before, he served as Head of National Office for UNHR in Belize between 2017 and 2020, following terms as Senior Staff Development Officer for UNHCR’s Global Learning Center since 2015 and as Senior Protection Officer for UNHCR in Nairobi (Kenya), in 2013 and 2014.

From 2007 to 2013, Mr. Wissner worked as a Senior Legal Officer at the Bureau for Europe of UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, covering UNHCR's operations in Europe, with an initial responsibility for the EU countries and later as of 2009, covering Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Balkans.

Between 2004 and 2007, Mr. Wissner was Protection Officer with UNHCR in Paris (France), subsequent to his assignments in similar functions in Dili (Timor Leste), from 2002 to 2004 and in Mashad (Iran), from 2000 to 2002. His initial posting was as Associate Protection / Repatriation Officer in Quetta (Pakistan), where he started out his career with UNHCR in 1997.

Mr. Wissner is a lawyer by training and speaks English, French, Portuguese and Spanish besides his native German.

SESSION 1 - Identifying and protecting stateless persons in Europe

Co-Director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion

Laura van Waas is an Assistant Professor at the Department of European and International Law at Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands, as well as a founder and Co-Director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion. In more than a decade of working on statelessness, Laura has carried out a wide array of research and teaching projects, both within academia and for the United Nations Refugee Agency. She has conducted studies for, among others, Plan International, the OHCHR, Open Society Foundations, the Women’s Refugee Commission, the United States Department of State, the European Parliament and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Dr. van Waas’ PhD manuscript, ‘Nationality Matters’ (Intersentia, 2008), is widely used as a reference for understanding international statelessness law by researchers and practitioners all over the world, as is the edited collection ‘Nationality and Statelessness under International Law’ which she edited together with Alice Edwards (Cambridge University Press, 2014).

His name is Raymond Santamaria. He is a stateless person living in the UK on a limited leave to remain resident permit. He was born in Goa and travelled to the UK in 2008 using British passports issued by the British High Commission in Mumbai. He and his siblings were all issued with the same and all are in the same circumstances. Their passports and British citizenship were cancelled by the Home Office a few months after their arrival in the U.K. Since then, numerous applications have been sent to the Home Office to regularise their stay in the UK. They had been unsuccessful until their most recent limited leave to remain as a stateless person application was approved by the Stateless determination team.

It’s been 13 years since he has seen his siblings who were stuck in India unable to travel and stateless with no hope or option of finding a solution. They now hope that they will be able to go and visit all their family and friends.

“My name is Raymond, I’m stateless and uncertain of what my future holds. However, I want to make sure I live in the present and do as much as I can each day to change lives and help other people succeed, find peace and happiness.”

SESSION 2 - Preventing and reducing statelessness in Europe, including the possible consequences of childhood statelessness

Zainnab Makele is a Protection Associate at UNHCR in the UK. Her work includes advocacy and training with the UK authorities on asylum, resettlement, complementary pathways and statelessness. In particular, Zainnab’s work focuses on sexual and gender-based violence and community-based protection. Zainnab has worked closely on statelessness advocacy and in 2020, Zainnab supported the UK office in conducting interviews with stateless persons and drafting a report on the experiences of stateless people. Zainnab is a qualified solicitor and prior to UNHCR, worked implementing refugee education projects in Kenya.

Senior Legal Officer (Statelessness), Division of International Protection, UNHCR

Radha Govil is a Senior Legal Officer (Statelessness) in the Division of International Protection at UNHCR, where she has worked on issues relating to nationality and statelessness since 2010. Radha has helped to develop UNHCR doctrine and policy on statelessness in a number of areas, including in relation to the definition of a stateless person under international law and the implementation framework for the #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness. Prior to working at UNHCR, Radha worked as a solicitor in Australia on issues of environment law at Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King Wood Mallesons). She holds an LL.B. and a BA from the University of Melbourne and a Master in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, for which she was awarded the Lauterpacht/Higgins and Georg Schwarzenberger Prizes for Best Performance in International Law.

Lynn Al-khatib was born as a stateless Palestinian in Syria. In 2014, Lynn arrived in Sweden and has since been working to raise awareness on the impact statelessness has on people living in Europe. She is advocating for better treatment and respect of stateless people's rights. She has spoken at various regional and national events on the issue, and is an active member of the European Network on Statelessness and the Swedish Organisation Against Statelessness."

Adolfo Sommarribas worked as a researcher at the Center of the Administration of Justice of Florida international University in different countries in Latin America from 1986 until 1989 and as a lawyer in different countries until he joined the University of Luxembourg in 2011 as legal migration expert for the Luxembourg National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN). Mr Sommarribas currently is senior legal advisor (in projects) of the University of Luxembourg. Mr Sommarribas is a coordinator of the European Migration Network Platform of Statelessness since 2016. Since his appointment the platform has produced outputs such as the EMN Inform “Statelessness in the EU” (2016 and 2020), organizing events for stakeholders such as technical workshops, trainings and conferences with the collaboration of international organisations (e.g. UNHCR, UNICEF) and EU NGOs(e.g. ENS) to raise awareness on statelessness. In the EMN at the European level, Mr Sommarribas was codeveloper of the EMN ad-hoc queries tool in 2013 after being appointed co-chair of the Ad-hoc query Working Group post that he still holds guaranteeing the quality of the exchange of information between Member States and the European Union. He is also in charge of the coordination with other EU agencies and network (i.e. EASO, GDISC and IGC) to avoid duplication and exchange of information. He has been expert for the Luxembourgish government during the Luxembourgish presidencies of the Benelux (2016 and 2019) on trafficking in human beings, and had participated in the drafting of the Luxembourg national report SOPEMI for the OECD (2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLOSING REMARKS

Gerard-René de Groot is a Professor emeritus of Maastricht University in Comparative Law and Private International Law. He studied law at University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and at the Westfälische Wilhelmsuniversität Münster (Germany). Mr De Groot obtained the degrees Magister iuris and Doctorandus iuris at Groningen University and taught there from 1974 to 1982. He also obtained the degree of Doctor iuris at Maastricht University. Gerard-René de Groot has published books and articles on nationality law, comparative law, private international law, legal translation and the protection of regional and minority languages. He is the President of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association. He is a Consortium member of the Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) and a co-Director of the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE).

(See above)

CLOSING OF THE MEETING

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE - 24 September 2021 - OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE

Secretary General’s Special Representative on Migration and Refugees, Council of Europe

In January 2020, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek took up his functions as the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees to the Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić. A lawyer by training and a career diplomat, Drahoslav Štefánek was the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the Council of Europe. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, he was the Director General for the United Nations, International Organisations, European Union Affairs and Human Rights. He also chaired the United Nations Working Group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. His diplomatic career includes posts responsible for Human Rights and Political Affairs at the Permanent Mission of the Slovak Republic to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, and at the Permanent Mission of the Slovak Republic to the United Nations in New York. Prior to that, he has served as the Agent of Slovakia as well as a Member of the Delegation representing Slovakia before the International Court of Justice. Mr Drahoslav Štefánek holds a JUDr in Law from Matej Bel University and law degrees from the Bratislava and Utrecht universities.

HIGH LEVEL PANEL - TAKING STOCK: UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND ERADICATING STATELESSNESS IN EUROPEJ

Gillian Triggs is a UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with UNHCR, taking up her appointment in September 2019. She is a public international lawyer who has held a number of appointments in service to human rights and the refugee cause, including as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Gillian oversees UNHCR’s protection work in support of millions of refugees, asylum-seekers, those who have been forcibly displaced within their own country and stateless.

A dual national of Britain and Australia, Gillian has held a number of leadership roles, including as Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London, President of the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal, Chair of the UN Independent Expert Panel of Inquiry into Abuse of Office and Harassment in UNAIDS, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Challis Professor (Emerita) of International Law at the University of Sydney, and Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne.

Gillian has supported many not-for-profit groups, including most recently as Chair of Justice Connect, which connects 10,000 lawyers to provide pro bono advice to asylum-seekers and others needing legal support. She is also the author of many books and papers on international law, including ‘International Law: Contemporary Principles and Practice, (2nd ed. 2011) and Speaking Up (2018).

In July 2021 Gillian was awarded a Ruth Bader Ginsberg Inaugural Medal of Honour in recognition of her fight for the rule of law and gender equality.

João Arsénio de Oliveira is the recent elected Chair of the European Committee on Legal Co-operation of the Council of Europe (CDCJ). João Arsénio de Oliveira is the European Affairs Co-ordinator and Head of the Department for International Co-operation of the Ministry of Justice of Portugal. He also acts as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference of the Ministers of Justice of the Portuguese Speaking Countries. He previously worked as Legal Advisor in the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(See above)

Christophe Poirel is Director of the Human Rights Directorate of the Council of Europe since July 2018. He is responsible for the departments in charge of supervising the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, social rights and the implementation of the European Social Charter, intergovernmental co-operation in the fields of human rights and bioethics as well as Council of Europe's activities concerning the independence and functioning of judicial systems.

He has previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe between 2010 and 2018, with particular responsibility for political and human rights issues, having held various positions in the human rights field since 1989.

Chris Nash is the Director and co-founder of the European Network on Statelessness. He has worked in the refugee and migration field for over 20 years, initially as an asylum lawyer and then at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (Head of Policy and Advocacy), the Refugee Council of Australia (National Policy Director), Amnesty International (Head of Refugee and Migrant Rights Team) and Asylum Aid (International Protection Policy Co-ordinator). Chris has written widely on asylum, migration and statelessness policy. The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) is a civil society alliance of over 170 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics, and experts covering 41 countries in Europe. ENS designed and hosts both the Statelessness Case Law Database and the Statelessness Index which contains accessible up-to-date comparative information on statelessness law, policy and practice in 27 European countries.

Christiana Bukalo is a vector of social change and the founder of Statefree e.V.

As a stateless individual, who was born in Germany, she has transformed her lived experience into the creative fuel for the digital platform www.statefree.world. She follows the mission of providing a space for global community, communication and collaboration in the area of statelessness. Furthermore, Christiana sits on the board of trustees of the European Network on Statelessness. Prior to Statefree Christiana has mainly worked in the areas of Communication, Organisational Design & Culture as well as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Gerard-René de Groot is a Professor emeritus of Maastricht University in Comparative Law and Private International Law. He studied law at University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and at the Westfälische Wilhelmsuniversität Münster (Germany). Mr De Groot obtained the degrees Magister iuris and Doctorandus iuris at Groningen University and taught there from 1974 to 1982. He also obtained the degree of Doctor iuris at Maastricht University. Gerard-René de Groot has published books and articles on nationality law, comparative law, private international law, legal translation and the protection of regional and minority languages. He is the President of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association. He is a Consortium member of the Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) and a co-Director of the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE).

RATIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CONVENTIONS ON STATELESSNESS – THE ROLE OF STATES

Boriss Cilevičs is a Latvian politician. In 1991-1995 he worked with human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs), participated in a number of international projects, published several research papers in Latvia, USA, Russia, Germany, etc. In 1997 he was elected as Riga City Councillor. In 1998 elected member of Saeima and re-elected in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 (extraordinary elections), 2014 and 2018; vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, member of the European Affairs Committee. Since 1999 he is a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He has chaired the Sub-Committee on the Rights of Minorities and the Committee on the Election of Judges of the European Court of Human Rights. He currently chairs the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. Along with the parliamentary work, he remains involved with civil society and participates in some NGO projects.

(See above)

JOINING FORCES TO ERADICATE STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE

Melanie J. Khanna has served as the Chief of the Statelessness Section in the Division of International Protection at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at its Headquarters in Geneva since 2015. In this role she leads the team that supports implementation of UNHCR’s statelessness mandate, including by providing advice on relevant law and doctrinal matters. Ms. Khanna has been involved in producing all of UNHCR’s key publications and resources on statelessness since the launch of the #IBelong Campaign in 2014, including special reports on childhood statelessness and statelessness as a minority rights issue as well as new UNHCR Guidelines on Loss and Deprivation of Nationality. She frequently lectures and writes on statelessness and is the co-editor, with Laura van Wass, of the 2017 volume, “Solving Statelessness.” Prior to joining UNHCR, Ms. Khanna served as Legal Adviser to the US Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, where she specialized in international human rights law, and as an Attorney-Adviser at the US Department of State. She is a graduate of the Yale Law School and Columbia University.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLOSING REMARKS

Mr. Andreas Wissner has been UNHCR’s Representative to the European Institutions in Strasbourg since 2020. Before, he served as Head of National Office for UNHR in Belize between 2017 and 2020, following terms as Senior Staff Development Officer for UNHCR’s Global Learning Center since 2015 and as Senior Protection Officer for UNHCR in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 and 2014.

From 2007 to 2013 Mr. Wissner worked as a Senior Legal Officer at the Bureau for Europe of UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, covering UNHCR's operations in Europe, with an initial responsibility for the EU countries and later as of 2009, covering Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Balkans.

Between 2004 and 2007 Mr. Wissner was Protection Officer with UNHCR in Paris, France, subsequent to his assignments in similar functions in Dili, Timor Leste from 2002 to 2004 and in Mashad, Iran from 2000 to 2002. His initial posting was as Associate Protection / Repatriation Officer in Quetta, Pakistan where he started out his career with UNHCR in 1997.

Mr. Wissner is a lawyer by training and speaks English, French, Portuguese and Spanish besides his native German.

Daniele Cangemi supervises the Council of Europe’s standard-setting work in the areas of Human Rights, Justice and Legal Co-operation, including the secretariat of the Steering Committee for Human Rights, of the European Committee on Legal Co-operation and of the Consultative Councils of Judges and Prosecutors from September 2021. Working for the Council of Europe since 2001, he served as legal advisor, as Deputy Head of the Counter-terrorism task force, and as Head of the Human Rights Law and Policy Division, at the time of the elaboration of the ground-breaking Committee of Ministers’ recommendations on the promotion of human rights of older persons, on combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, and of the working party which elaborated the draft legal instruments for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights. Between 2014 and September 2021, he worked for the Directorate General of Democracy, first as Special Co-ordinator and then as Head of the Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department, supervising the Council of Europe work in the areas of gender equality, violence against women and trafficking in human beings.