Stateless people waiting to receive medical assistance from volunteers
in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. © UNHCR/Carla Lee
A woman in Panama is interviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
during a mission conducted in the Darien province to identify people at
risk of statelessness. © Ministry of Interior of Panama
From 14 to 16 April, in Côte d’Ivoire, UNHCR and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a training
on Statelessness Determination Procedures (SDPs)
for members of the recently established eligibility
bodies. The eligibility bodies were installed following
the adoption of an SDP in September 2020;
they will commence their work as soon as cases
are submitted by the Directorate for Relief and
Assistance to Refugees and Stateless Persons.
In line with Action 7, Ensure birth registration
for the prevention of statelessness, from May
2020 to May 2021, with the support of UNHCR,
the Government of Panama registered the births
of 98 newborns whose parents were stranded
in the country due to the closure of borders in
2020 to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. All
children were duly documented and received birth
certificates and identification cards (cédula juvenil).
On 29 May, in the Dominican Republic, UNHCR
organized a mobile health clinic operation in the San
Pedro de Macoris province in collaboration with the
NGO ASCALA and community members designed
to assist stateless people and people at risk of
statelessness who face obstacles to access the
national health system.
In Indonesia, a birth registration campaign was
conducted for children of Rohingya refugees in
Lhokseumawe, Aceh in March and May. This is in
line with the Presidential Regulation No. 62/2019,
designed to ensure birth registration for all, including
those born to refugees and asylum seekers.
On 17 April, in the Philippines, UNHCR, UNICEF,
the Local Government of Zamboanga, and the
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
Zamboanga Sub Office conducted a verification
exercise in Zamboanga to register the births of the
Sama Bajau populations at risk of statelessness. As
a result, 141 persons had their documents checked
and approved by the civil registry office and
arrangements are being made to distribute birth
certificates. The activity is in line with the National
Action Plan to End Statelessness and the national
UNHCR-UNICEF Joint Strategy to End Childhood
Statelessness.
In May, the Government of Panama granted
statelessness status to the first individual pursuant
to its recently adopted Statelessness Determination
Procedure. To enhance the impact of the procedure,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, with
UNHCR’s support, conducted two missions to
remote areas of the Darien province to identify and
assist persons at risk of statelessness in April and
May. This exercise resulted in the identification of
15 individuals whose cases will all be presented to
the relevant authorities to initiate the recognition
process.
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