Our Partners and Supporters

Our Partners and Supporters

The SLC was established in 2021, as a proud partnership between the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, the Refugee Advice Casework Service (RACS) and the Melbourne Law School (MLS) Clinics at the University of Melbourne.

The Clinic’s work is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Cameron Foundation.

The grant has been named in honor of Hiam Chalouhy, the mother of stateless person Fadi Chalouhy, who now resides in Australia. Mr Chalouhy is the first stateless person to be granted an Australian skilled migrant visa through the ‘Talent Beyond Boundaries’ program and works closely with the SLC to oversee and support its development and operation.

In Fadi’s words -

‘My mother raised me on her own and faced an uphill battle for a quarter of a century trying to register me as a stateless child. Despite being poor and uneducated, she still managed to provide me with an education and a decent living. From 1991 to 2016, she exhausted all avenues in her attempt to end my statelessness, including contacting politicians, participating in women's rights protests and seeking help from lawyers. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2016 after losing her battle with cancer, 3 years before I made it to Australia where I am now a permanent resident. This grant was made to honor her sacrifices and the 25-year-old struggle she endured, attempting to give me - her child - the most basic of human rights; an identity.

For 25 years my mother and I struggled to find answers or even understand what statelessness is, and how to fight it. This clinic will give every mother and child currently in this situation a fighting chance.’