Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness: documenting the first six years of impact
The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness’ leadership on a global drive to eliminate statelessness is revealed in its first impact report.
The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness is the only university-based research centre on statelessness and launched in 2018.
Stateless people are the most vulnerable people on earth. To have no nationality, and therefore no country to legally belong, relegates millions of people globally to a life of depravation, degradation and exclusion.
Key figures highlighted in the report show since its inception, the Centre has published six books, four major reports, 51 journal articles, more than a dozen book chapters and 22 policy submissions and briefings in Australia and globally.
The impact report also reveals the Centre’s Stateless Legal Clinic, a service assisting eligible stateless children to apply for Australian Citizenship; drafting briefing documents for lawyers assisting stateless adults; and delivering legal education to communities, has assisted more than 70 stateless children with Australian citizenship applications
The Centre is poised this year to release findings from its current major research project on Statelessness in Australian Law and Practice , with recommendations for Australian law reform.
The impact showcase report reveals an impressive list of the Centre's achievements:
- Major research projects.
- the Stateless Legal Clinic.
- Stateless Intensive Course, endorsed and sponsored by the UNHCR, has trained 210 professionals in 38 countries to date.
- Policy engagement in Australia and internationally.
- Submissions to institutions including The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2023), UN Human Rights Council (2020), and The World Bank (2020).
- Key public events.
- Statelessness and Citizenship Review, the world's first academic journal dedicated to statelessness and related citizenship phenomena.
In 2023, Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness hosted United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi for a public address. The Commissioner also met with interns and a client family of the Stateless Legal Clinic.
“The Centre is… almost the only one of its kind in the world and a steadfast partner. I appreciate what is done here for stateless people and encourage your continued work in this much needed endeavour,” he said.
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness was founded with generous 10-year philanthropic gift from Peter and Ruth McMullin, responding to a clear gap in research, teaching, and public policy engagement on global statelessness. The Centre’s Stateless Legal Clinic is supported by Cameron Foundation, alongside other partners.
The Centre is now led by Professor Hélène' Lambert, director, and formerly led by inaugural director Professor Michelle Foster.