The case of Hubert Howard is illustrative of the broader injustices suffered by members of the ‘Windrush generation’ at the hands of the UK state. A recent decision by the England and Wales High Court offers some (partial) redress.
Commonwealth citizens who came to the UK in the period after the Second World War are now close to retirement age and their right to live in the UK has come under challenge, with catastrophic consequences for some. The story has become a major political scandal and has led to the resignation of the Home Secretary Amber Rudd. It is a rare instance of public and mainstream media support for migrants. Read More …
The nationality provisions in the Nationality and Borders Bill, currently progressing through the UK Parliament, are, with one exception, broadly progressive as they aim to rectify historic injustices and discrimination, contrasting with other parts of the Bill, which have been widely condemned. This blog post explains the background to and effects of the nationality clauses. Read More …
Concerned about the growing instrumentalisation of nationality and deterioration of the institution of citizenship, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion presents two new resources to learn about more about the practice of citizenship stripping and relevant international standards which limit state power to do so: the World’s Stateless 2020 – Deprivation of Nationality; and the Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure.
Throughout 2018, citizenship has been one of the most ubiquitous topics of political debate in a number of countries. In January the Austrian and the Italian governments entered into a spat over the possibility to offer Austrian citizenship to German and Ladin speaking people living in the region of South Tyrol. In May the United Kingdom government was embroiled in a scandal over the rights of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK in the period after the Second World War. And in October, the US President Donald Trump said he will try to end the right to U.S. citizenship for babies born in the United States to non-citizens. While being a burning topic in the political discourse, the way countries regulate their membership has remained largely intact. In fact, there have been only a few changes to citizenship legislation between January 2018 and January 2019. We have mapped these reforms. Read More …
