On Thursday 15th October 2026, JRS UK hosted a joint conference with the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) and the Global Movement against Statelessness (GMAS) titled, The power of collective action: working together to end statelessness in the UK.
This conference was a part of the GMAS Stateless Month of Action, a framework that dedicates the month of October to statelessness advocacy and changemaking.
The event was attended by members of all three organisations alongside independent advocates and representatives of the University of Liverpool Law Clinic, the British Rohingya Community, Tadamon, and the British Palestinian Committee.
At the centre of the discussion was collaborative advocacy: the practice of engaging with and working alongside the community to enact change.
Takeaways from the panel
The event began with a panel discussion moderated by ENS’ Nina Murray, which included Shuchi Purohit from GMAS, researcher and advocate Ahmad Jaber Benswait, Judith Carter from the University of Liverpool Law Clinic, and JRS UK’s own Sophie Cartwright and Angela McLeary.
Each panel member shared their personal experiences with collective action, and then shifted to discussions of empowerment, collaboration, and challenges regarding advocacy. Throughout the discussion, a few main themes arose: the need for structural change through collective action, the value of education and investment in the future, and the importance of supportive spaces for communities.
Various panelists stated that an end to statelessness would require the examination and disruption of existing power structures. Ms. Purohit noted that systemically increasing access to knowledge in particular could empower communities affected by statelessness to advocate for themselves. This empowerment, the panelists agreed, would be best achieved through collaboration, so that advocates could combine their expertise in fighting for change. Ms. McLeary highlighted how Ms. Carter’s legal expertise, for instance, would bring valuable literacy and power to advocacy spaces.
The panelists also discussed the use of education as a tool, both to help people understand the systems around them and to engage youth in the movement. One audience member suggested that digital media could be used to connect with youth impacted by statelessness, and that younger generations are crucial to the future of statelessness advocacy. Ms. Purohit later shared that global youth advocacy movements inspire hope for the future and, in turn, exposure to collective action efforts empowers young people.
The value of lived-experience expertise was continually referenced during the discussion, and with it, the necessity to support advocates affected by statelessness. Dr. Cartwright highlighted the need for specific resources in creating safe spaces that would make collaborative advocacy more accessible to vulnerable individuals, and Ms. Carter elaborated that, working on cases, she had noticed a lack of support spaces for refugees who had to recount their traumatic experiences. Overall, the panelists concluded that collaboration, education, and support are essential to ending statelessness and empowering those affected by it.
The new Guide to Collaborative Advocacy on Statelessness and its application
After the panel discussion, Chris Afuakwah from ENS and Sirazul Islam from British Rohingya Community introduced ENS’ new Guide to Collaborative Advocacy on Statelessness and led reflections on how each organisation could apply its principles to their own work and the UK as a whole.
The Guide, as Mr. Afuakwah explained, was co-developed by ENS and its partners as a resource for individuals affected by statelessness, their allies, and organisations, and outlines a process by which organisations and communities can work together to advocate against statelessness. It focuses on collaborative advocacy, and Mr. Islam continued that this principle came from a desire to engage the community beyond extracting stories from them. He stated that lived experience should be framed as a form of expertise that could inform commentary and criticism of the asylum system beyond one’s personal story, and that when individuals did choose to share their stories, it should be an empowering action rather than a compulsory one.
Next, Mr. Afuakwah and Mr. Islam invited self-reflection about the implementation of collective advocacy. Many respondents named networking, engagement, and staying in touch with the community as organisational strengths in this area, and referred to the current event and Guide, along with various statelessness campaigns around the UK, as positive examples. The distribution of resources and knowledge, such as through informational sessions, was also highlighted as an achievement.
When asked where organisations could improve and what barriers existed, many participants mentioned funding. Both research and practical support for the community require financial backing, meaning that adequate funding is essential for effective collaborative advocacy. People also listed institutional barriers, a lack of prioritisation of statelessness, and a rise in far-right anti-immigration rhetoric as obstacles to meaningful community engagement.
After this activity, the conversational scope widened as Mr. Afuakwah asked small groups to examine different aspects of applied collaborative advocacy in the UK. In discussions of barrier removal and local collaboration, groups agreed that connections with communities and local authorities are imperative, both for educating individuals and institutions on the topic of statelessness and for imploring national authorities to recognise and support people experiencing statelessness.
Other groups explored interactions with decision-makers on a national and global level, and shared this prioritisation of connection. They specifically suggested forming relationships with civil servants, diversifying arguments in favour of addressing statelessness, and raising international awareness through interactions with world leaders and social media. By the end of the workshop, it was clear that access to resources and funding, engagement with local communities, and communication with institutional decision-makers all play a major role in effective application of the Guide’s collaborative advocacy principles.
Collaborative advocacy in Palestinian community organisations
The event concluded with a presentation by a representative from Tadamon and Ghassan Ghaben from its partner organisation, the British Palestinian Committee. The presentation began with the explanation of Tadamon’s objectives: the organisation was established in an effort by the British Palestinian Committee to build a strong, community-focused institution that would support Palestinians advocating against genocide. Mr. Ghaben then shared that he was brought to advocacy work by the effects of the Palestinian genocide on himself and his family, and explained that Tadamon works alongside the Committee to provide casework and other supports to the community.
The two highlighted stateless and refugee rights, an end to the genocide in Palestine, and the ability for refugees to return to Palestine as core tenets of their organisations. They also called attention to the lack of general knowledge about Palestinian migration into the UK and emphasised the need for education about, recognition of, and safety for Palestinian refugees. Additionally, Mr. Ghaben stated that both organisations work to prove that Palestinian survivors cannot be erased.
Mr. Ghaben then elaborated on the organisations’ approach to community engagement, asserting that building trust with local communities is absolutely essential to effective collaborative engagement. He expressed concerns with the idea of being ‘realistic’ while fighting for rights and recognition, and argued that what is right and what is important to communities should take precedence over what will appeal to those in power. Supporting people affected by statelessness, he said, should be the goal of collaborative advocacy, and maintaining positive relationships with communities is essential to accomplish this.
The conference concluded with a call for participating members to work alongside one another in their advocacy, to support and value those with lived experience, and above all, to remain steadfast in the fight against statelessness.
