Solving child statelessness: Disclosure, reporting, and corporate responsibility

Statelessness affects around 10 million people globally, many of them children. Countless public law initiatives to diminish and eradicate statelessness exist, yet the problem persists. This article explores the potential for the private law to contribute to a solution to this problem, leading to increased awareness of the plight of stateless children among the public, investors, governments and multinational corporations. In doing so, the article examines the role of the private law in regulating the use of so-called ‘conflict minerals’ in the United States and internationally. It recognises the contribution made by conflict minerals legislation towards finding an effective solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The article therefore proposes, amongst other initiatives, a legislative solution to the enduring problem of child statelessness, adapting provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act which require corporate reporting and disclosure in relation to international supply chains of public limited companies in respect of conflict minerals, and applying them instead to the causes of child statelessness.