Faculty

International human rights law (statelessness and refugee law), nationality law, citizenship and statelessness studies, forced migration studies

International statelessness law provides an international legal framework to reduce statelessness and to protect stateless persons. For example, in order to prevent childhood statelessness, I have examined the “foundling” provision—granting nationality to children whose parents are unknown (such as abandoned children)—under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, including by conducting a comparative analysis of nationality laws in all 193 States worldwide.　Within international refugee law, my research has focused in particular on the interpretation of the refugee definition under the 1951 Refugee Convention and on the scope of application of the principle of non-refoulement.

At present, the global rise in xenophobia and social division is placing respect for diversity and international human rights norms under unprecedented pressure. In this context, stateless persons—who are not recognized as nationals by any State—and refugees, who are forced to flee their homes due to persecution or conflict, can be said to be among the most vulnerable. Research on the protection of stateless persons and refugees invites us to re-examine the tension between State sovereignty and human rights, and to reflect on the values that our own societies choose to uphold.