Statelessness as a Global Human Rights Issue : Case Study of Statelessness in India and Myanmar

Abstract: Statelessness as we know it now has its roots at the beginning of the 20th century. Today more than ten million people around the world are not recognised by any state as a national.  This drastically impacts both their national and human rights. Ranging from access to education, to access to health care, denial of freedom of movement and denial of political involvement to mention a few.  This paper starts by providing a theoretical background to statelessness. We will then dive deeper into the varying contributing factors and causes of statelessness, outlining specific factors and relating them to real-life situations around the globe. After this, there will be an analysis of the ways in which the lack of a functional nationality affects the enjoyment of human rights.  In chapter six we will take a deeper look into two illustrative case studies of India and Myanmar.  In the reflection, we will look at how the case studies relate to statelessness as a global problem.