Researcher on Statelessness

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)H (no hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONS International

Target Start Date2025-08-25

Deadline for ApplicationsAugust 10, 2025

Terms of ReferenceThis is a home-based consultancy.

1. General Background of Project or Assignment:

The cornerstone of efforts to prevent childhood statelessness is the safeguard enshrined in Article 1 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention), which requires that a child born on the territory of a State Party be granted that State’s nationality if the child would otherwise be stateless. This provision must be interpreted in light of international human rights law, particularly Articles 3 and 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which affirm every child’s right to acquire a nationality and require that a child’s best interests be a primary consideration. Consequently, even States that are not party to the 1961 Convention, but are to the CRC, are bound by international law to avoid prolonged childhood statelessness.
A UNHCR-commissioned survey in 2014 revealed that many States’ nationality laws were not aligned with the safeguard from Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. While a significant number of countries included some form of the safeguard in the legislation, many States, including a considerable number of parties to the 1961 Convention, lacked such a safeguard altogether. Moreover, even where safeguards existed, they often imposed conditions beyond those permitted under Article 1 of the 1961 Convention.
However, legislative alignment alone does not guarantee that the safeguard will be effective in practice. Very little is known about the actual implementation of the safeguard. There is limited understanding of whether States have established procedures to give effect to the safeguard, what types of procedures or administrative practices are in place, and how effective these are in ensuring that otherwise stateless children acquire a nationality in practice.

2. Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
The objective of this consultancy is to prepare a paper examining the legislative and procedural implementation of the safeguard that grants nationality to children born on a State’s territory who would otherwise be stateless. The paper is to be based on an in-depth analysis of approximately 10 countries from different regions, focusing on both the legislative framework and the procedures established to ensure that eligible children can benefit from this safeguard. The review of procedural implementation should be detailed and encompass all key aspects of the procedure and its functioning in practice, including its accessibility, institutional setup, and overall effectiveness. The selection of countries should be based on criteria that ensure relevance, representation, and the potential to generate meaningful insights. Through a comparative analysis, the consultant will identify good practices and develop recommendations for States on the effective implementation of the safeguard, to be included in the final paper.

This project will involve the following activities to be carried out by the consultant:
• Developing a research methodology, with a timeline.
• Conducting a desk review to identify 15-20 countries that have incorporated the safeguard into national legislation and have procedures in place for its implementation.
• Reviewing the legislative and procedural implementation of the safeguard in the selected countries, drawing on UNHCR materials, academic resources, government guidance, court decisions resources, and other relevant resources.
• Identifying key informants from government authorities, NGOs with knowledge of the safeguard’s procedural implementation, in collaboration with UNHCR offices.
• Selecting 10-12 countries for in-depth analysis based on the findings of the previous steps.
• Conducting interviews with key informants and carry out other data collection methods as included in the methodology.
• Preparing a detailed outline of the paper for review by UNHCR.
• Drafting a draft paper based on the approved outline for review by UNHCR.
• Revise draft paper based on UNHCR feedback.
• Preparing the final paper.

Key deliverables
* Research methodology and timeline
* Identification of 15-20 countries
* Completion of desk review of the legislative and procedural implementation of the safeguard
* Identification of key informants
* Final selection of 10-12 countries
* Delivery of a detailed outline
* Delivery of a first draft paper
* Delivery of a second draft paper
* Delivery of a final version of the paper

3. Required level, qualifications and work experience:

Level of responsibilities required (mark as appropriate) for individual contractors and fellows: The assignment is for an Individual Consultant

Qualification and experience required (degree required, years of work experience, field of expertise, language required):

- Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree (PhD or Masters) in law, social sciences, anthropology, sociology, international/community development studies, or a related field;
- A minimum of 6 years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 5 years with a postgraduate degree in the desired field of education;
- Experience in legal, policy, or academic work related to nationality law, statelessness, or international human rights law;
- Excellent analytical skills: including the capacity to develop analytical frameworks, collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources to produce meaningful analysis for external reporting;
- Excellent drafting skills: with ability to write with clarity, high level of analysis, and conciseness;
- Demonstrated organizational skills: the ability to work independently and productively in a fast-paced environment;
- Flexible work attitude: the ability to work productively, independently, and to handle requests or issues as they arise;
- Communicates sensitively and effectively across different constituencies;
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines; and
- Excellent command of English, knowledge of additional UN languages is a plus.

4. Application requirements
Please submit the following documents with your application:
- CV
- Draft methodology (this can be high level and should be maximum one page)
- A summary workplan, including timeline

5. Monitoring and Progress Controls (report requirements, periodicity, format, deadlines):
a. The final product (e.g. survey completed, data collected, workshop conducted, research documents produced specify): Report produced
b. Work on the basis of time employed: Yes
c. Final product: 30-50 pages in English

The final product: A paper examining the legislative and procedural implementation of the safeguard to grant nationality to children born on a State’s territory who would otherwise be stateless, including recommendations to States.

Delivery of final version by: 31 December 2025

Standard Job Description

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Other informationHome Based consultantThis position doesn't require a functional clearance

RemoteYes