Box 13: Addressing Cross-Cutting Issues “I think there is an institutional challenge with this issue. The way DOS is structured, you have humanitarian issues, you have human rights issues, and you have offices for one and offices for the other…Cross-over issues become harder, there isn’t a clear home for it when it has both the humanitarian and the human rights [aspect]. So, that’s something that has to be thought through. If you’re going to be effective on [statelessness] you have to figure out, how do you do that.” Statelessness is a cross-cutting issue that intersects with democracy, human rights and peace and security. Some DOS staff members have had discussions on whether the issue “fits” in PRM or in another bureau, such as DRL, as highlighted by one DOS interviewee in Box 13. For many reasons, this evaluation concludes that PRM remains the appropriate home for statelessness because of PRM’s close relationship with UNHCR and PRM’s knowledge of protection in general. However, similarly to the way that UNHCR must coordinate across the UN family and with human rights groups to make progress on statelessness, PRM must do the same within DOS. Interviewees agreed, as expressed by one: “I think that PRM remains the right place for the issue in the DOS, although I do think it would benefit from better cross-bureau collaboration.” Some examples of PRM-led cross-bureau coordination or mainstreaming include: A. In 2007, PRM worked with DRL editors to create a subsection dedicated to statelessness in the annual State Department Country Reports on human rights practices. B. In 2015, DRL’s Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Tom Malinowski and PRM’s Assistant Secretary Anne Richard conducted a joint mission to Rakhine State to advocate through diplomacy on the situation of the Rohingya, approached through a human rights lens. C. In 2020, in the Dominican Republic, the DAS from WHA engaged in bilateral diplomacy on statelessness. Although there is some evidence of cross-bureau coordination through diplomatic engagements on highprofile statelessness situations, there was less evidence of coordination efforts that resulted in complementary programming or aligning programs according to the strengths of different bureaus. Across the USG. There is recognition of the benefits of cross-bureau collaboration within DOS, but statelessness as a cross-cutting issue is also relevant to development actors, particularly the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As stated by one interviewee, “There is a development dimension in the sense that individuals who are stateless actually have obstacles in accessing services – access to education, healthcare…” The evaluation found no evidence that PRM had coordinated on statelessness programming with USAID or other USG agencies. PRM has made efforts, however, to raise the issue with Congress. For example, in 2016, the PRM Assistant Secretary testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee raising concern about gender discrimination in nationality laws in countries affected by the Syria crisis and about lack of birth registration and those at risk of statelessness,22 while PRM ‘s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary also testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in 2015. EQ2: TO WHAT EXTENT HAVE PRM EFFORTS SUPPORTED PROGRESS TOWARD ACHIEVING THE GOALS OF UNHCR’S GAP? 5.1.6 Perceptions of Informants on Effectiveness The Evaluation Team found that effective progress on statelessness requires changes to nationality laws and procedures, as well as reforms to civil registration, that only governments can make. Changing the legal frameworks and improving civil registration in many countries, however, requires strong guidance and advocacy from UNHCR well beyond 2024. While UNHCR has issued a wide variety of excellent guidance on legal reform, making sure governments implement reforms requires a robust civil society, encouragement and assistance from other UN agencies and positive attention from the media, particularly to counteract root and systemic causes of statelessness like discrimination. Eliminating statelessness also requires that stateless people know their rights and that stateless communities have access to legal aid, 22 For more information, see https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/091416_%20Richard_Testimony.pdf. 14