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Stateless-led answer to statelessness
About us:
Apatride Network is run by stateless people for stateless people, giving voice of our views, providing ground-up expertise on statelessness, and dreaming of equal human rights in the European Union. We raise awareness of statelessness, clear up misconceptions therein, and empower stateless people as participants rather than mere objects of discussion. Our work focuses on guest lectures at universities and other relevant venues, publication of academic and media articles, advocacy, legal assistance, training for lawyers, and leading impact projects that target statelessness barriers.
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Stateless in the European Union
The European Union estimates 399,283 people that are “determined stateless or of undetermined nationality.“ Most are native Europeans with deep roots in Europe, being deprived of an equal right to nationality based on discrimination or bureaucratic inadequacies beyond own control. The number is a bare minimum estimate: data and the visibility of the topic remains poor due to obstruction from state actors that cause statelessness, power imbalances, and lack of representation of affected populations.
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We keep discovering mass statelessness cases in European history. Yesterday we were present at a lecture on the history of Maltese community that was made stateless in Libya. The lecture was hosted in the Maltese National Library.![]()
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Brief summary of the statelessness case:![]()
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In the early 20th century, Libya was an Italian colony (from 1911 until WWII). Thousands of Maltese had already settled in Libya before and during Italian rule — many were British subjects (since Malta was a British colony) but lived under Italian colonial administration.![]()
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Italy tried to "Italianize" the Maltese community, pressuring them to take Italian citizenship and assimilate culturally and linguistically. Many Maltese resisted, wanting to retain their British subject status, but some were forced or persuaded to accept Italian protection.![]()
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After Italy's defeat in World War II, Britain temporarily occupied Libya (1943–1951). Britain saw the Maltese there as natural British subjects and tried to reinforce their ties.![]()
However, some Maltese in Libya had Italian citizenship, some were still British protected persons, and some had an undefined status.![]()
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Italy claimed those Maltese who had taken Italian citizenship as their nationals, while Britain disputed this, saying they had been coerced.![]()
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When Libya became independent in 1951, it did not automatically grant citizenship to all residents. Maltese who were caught between British and Italian claims often ended up stateless, especially if they had lost Italian citizenship but had not firmly secured British nationality.![]()
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The colonial rivalry between Britain and Italy directly contributed to the statelessness problem among Maltese in Libya, affecting families who had lived there for generations.