Researchers
Associate Professor Carmen Leong, Business School, UNSW
Professor Barney Tan, Business School, UNSW
Associate Professor Zixiu Guo, Business School, UNSW
Dr Xiaoyang Wang, Engineering, UNSW
Dr Yichao Xu, Business School, UNSW
Giuseppe Daniele Ibello, Business School, UNSW
Funding
This project was part of the Australian Human Rights Institute’s 2025 joint seed funding round with the UNSW Business School, receiving $20,000.
Summary
In a world where State authorities mainly provide essential administrative functions to citizens or residents within borders, stateless persons are falling through the gaps. Stateless persons are not only deprived of their right to nationality; they are also subjected to severe human rights violations including restricted access to healthcare, education and livelihood opportunities. As they are administratively “invisible”, estimating the exact number of stateless people is extremely difficult – rendering their living conditions, aspirations, and challenges largely unknown.
The extreme marginalisation of stateless persons significantly hinders efforts to develop policies and programs that effectively address their needs, such as access to healthcare. Digital health interventions aimed at improving patient health data tracking and streamlining healthcare delivery to stateless communities hold the potential to improve stateless persons’ access to healthcare. However, digital health systems must be designed inclusively to empower rather than further marginalise stateless communities.
This interdisciplinary project brings together experts across human rights, information systems and engineering to address healthcare challenges faced by stateless communities. Researchers will work and learn closely from a grassroots organisation currently providing digital healthcare services to stateless persons in Southeast Asia to develop inclusive solutions that uphold dignity and enhance healthcare accessibility.
With funding support from the Australian Human Rights Institute and the UNSW Business School, this study will set a precedent for ethical and equitable digital health interventions that serve vulnerable communities worldwide, ensuring that stateless populations are not left behind in the digital era.