Symposium: “What awaits the Dutch stateless in 2015?”, Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance

January 16, 2015 · by · in Conferences, Courses/Training
02 March 2015, 14:00 – 17:00, Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance
Statelessness is making its way onto the Dutch political agenda and changes to the statelessness determination procedure have been promised. This colloquium will take a closer look at the proposed changes and their implications for stateless persons in the Netherlands. They symposium is open to the public. It will be held in Dutch and English.BackgroundIn 2011, the UNHCR issued a critical study on the position of stateless persons in the Netherlands, entitled ‘Mapping Statelessness in the Netherlands’. Two years later, a separate report by the national Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs confirmed the problems faced by this vulnerable group. In response to the latter, the State Secretary (Teeven) promised to introduce a statelessness determination procedure in the Netherlands, and to amend the Dutch nationality law so as to allow stateless children born in the Netherlands to obtain Dutch nationality more easily. What do these promises mean for the Dutch stateless? What will improve and for whom? And, perhaps even more importantly, what issues will remain unaddressed if these promises are fulfilled?

Opening photo-exhibition

The symposium marks the opening of an exhibition of photography by award-winning photographer Greg Constantine, who has dedicated much of his work documenting the life stories of the world’s stateless populations.

Programme

The symposium combines contributions from legal practice, academia, art, NGOs and the government. Among the speakers are

  • Dr Laura van Waas (Tilburg University, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion)
  • Dr Maarten den Heijer (University of Amsterdam, Commissie Meijers)
  • David de Jong (Adviescommissie Vreemdelingenzaken/Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs)
  • Dr Hana van Ooijen (Prakken d’Oliveira Human Rights Lawyers)

Two short documentaries on the lives of stateless persons in the Netherlands will be screened during the symposium.A more detailed programme will be published shortly.

Language

Presentations will be partly in English and partly in Dutch. No translation facilities will be available during the symposium. Questions can be asked to the speakers in either English or Dutch.

Attendance and registration 

Attendance is free of charge and open to everyone. To attend, please register using below form.

Registration Form / Inschrijfformulier

Link

http://acelg.uva.nl/news/events/content/symposia/2015/03/what-awaits-the-dutch-stateless-in-2015.html