Adopting the Stateless

Abstract

Statelessness, the lack of legally recognized citizenship, affects twelve million people worldwide. The consequences of statelessness frequently lead to compounding human rights abuses, including human trafficking, oppression, and neglect. Few solutions exist for statelessness absent compelled citizenship recognition in a nation state. Coincidentally, inter-adoption is growing in demand, but contracting in available sending states. This article proposes a nexus of statelessness and intercountry adoption where legislation is put forward to adopt stateless individuals, particularly children. This article will analyze pending legislation for the adoption of North Korean stateless persons and recommend legislation to address broader issues of statelessness.