UN Refugee Agency wants accelerated progress for world’s stateless

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - More action is needed to resolve the plight of millions worldwide who are still without citizenship, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said Thursday.

The agency was marking seven years since the launch of its #IBelong Campaign to end statelessness.

“Significant progress has been made over the past few years, but governments must do more to close the legal and policy gaps that continue to leave millions of people stateless or allow children to be born into statelessness,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

Statelessness, or the situation of not being recognized as a citizen by any country, affects millions of people around the world.

Stateless people cannot often access the most basic of rights, including going to school, working legally, accessing health services, marrying, or registering the birth of a child.

Since the UNHCR launched its #IBelong Campaign in 2014 to raise attention and advocate for an end to global statelessness, more than 400,000 stateless people in 27 countries have acquired nationality.

At the same time, tens of thousands of people across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas now have a pathway to citizenship due to newly enacted legislative changes.

- 29 states signed conventions

The UNHCR said 29 states have acceded to the Statelessness Conventions over the past seven years, signaling a strengthened political will to end statelessness.

“We are encouraged by this global momentum to tackle statelessness, which with concerted efforts by states we can eradicate,” said Grandi.

He cautioned that unless progress accelerates, the millions who remain deprived of nationality will be stuck in a human rights limbo, unable to access the most basic rights.

Statelessness has many causes, typically due to gaps or flaws in nationality laws and implementation.

Discrimination -- including based on ethnicity, religion and gender -- is a significant driver of statelessness.

Because they are not recognized as citizens, stateless people are often deprived of legal rights or essential services.

They are left politically and economically marginalized and vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and abuse.

“They may also not be able to access COVID-19 testing, treatment or vaccination and may have little access to support or protection in the face of climate risks,” said the UNHCR.

Worldwide, the UNHCR said its statistics show there are 4.2 million stateless people in some 94 countries.

“Given that most countries do not collect any data on statelessness, the actual figure is believed to be substantially higher,” said the refugee agency.

To date, 96 countries are parties to the 1954 UN Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, and 77 are parties to the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.