Volume LI – Number 2
Kyle Van Fleet & Dr. Shin Ji Kang
Abstract: Statelessness is an ongoing issue where millions of people lack citizenship or legal residency in any country. Most importantly, being stateless affects the scope of human rights that people enjoy. This paper analyzes in greater detail the legal definition of statelessness and current phenomenon of statelessness by presenting three cases of stateless groups: North Korean children born in China, Rohingya in Myanmar, and Palestinians under the Arab League. We will then provide potential solutions to each of their specific contexts, as well as discuss the importance of the state’s role in ending statelessness.
Keywords: Statelessness, North Korea, Rohingya, Myanmar, Palestine, Arab League, refugees
About the authors: Kyle Van Fleet is a student at James Madison University majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Political Communication. He has been active in his writing and speaking to improve human rights and security and has served on Amnesty International Student Chapter as Treasurer and Vice President. Dr. Shin Ji Kang serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education and Fellow of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Terrorism and Peace at James Madison University. Her scholarship involves working with North Korean refugee students and South Korean service providers to address diversity and justice.
