Zahra Albarazi and Thomas McGee<\/p>\n
A new regional network on statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa region is raising awareness and providing a platform for mobilisation.<\/p>\n
Statelessness has been an issue across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since the very origins of its modern nation-state system. According to UNHCR statistics, there are thousands of individuals across the MENA region who live without a nationality \u2013 and millions more if one includes the Palestinians recorded under a separate system.[1] Whole families and communities can be affected by statelessness, and statelessness can be inherited across multiple generations, causing severe violations of fundamental rights.<\/p>\n
As co-coordinators of the relatively recently formed MENA Statelessness Network,[2] we reflect on how the varied positions and experiences of those working on the issue of statelessness throughout the region have been represented. Moreover, we consider a challenge we regularly face: (how) can a regional network support bottom-up interventions led by stateless persons and their allies at local or national levels?<\/p>\n