EC/66/SC/CRP.11 I. Introduction 1. This Update covers the period since the last update in June 2013. It reviews the progress made in relation to the prevention and reduction of statelessness, as well as the identification and protection of stateless persons. It discusses the increased commitment to resolve statelessness following the launch of UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness in 10 Years and developments during the initial phase of the Campaign. The Note also discusses the areas where UNHCR faces major challenges and where a strengthened international response is required. It sets out how these challenges can be addressed and the steps that are required to end statelessness in ten years pursuant to the guiding framework established by the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024. II. Progress and ongoing challenges A. Launch of the Campaign to End Statelessness within 10 Years 2. Building on the solid commitment demonstrated by the international community since the 2011 Ministerial Intergovernmental Event, UNHCR launched the 10-year #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness on 4 November 2014. Through the Campaign, UNHCR aims to raise awareness of the specific challenges statelessness creates for individuals, families and societies, and to promote and coordinate responses by various stakeholders. 3. The launch of the Campaign included the publication of a Special Report and other media tools which explain the impact of statelessness. These were accompanied by an Open Letter calling for action by States, which has been signed by more than 50 public figures from around the world, including numerous former heads of State and Nobel Laureates. 4. The core component of the Campaign is the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014–2024 (Global Action Plan) which sets out UNHCR’s strategy for achieving the goals of the campaign. It was developed in consultation with States, civil society and other stakeholders. As it is States deciding to whom they confer nationality, the Global Action Plan focuses principally on States and outlines ten actions that are necessary to end statelessness. These actions aim to resolve existing situations of statelessness, to prevent new cases of statelessness from emerging, to strengthen the international legal framework governing statelessness and to gather better baseline information. A key means for taking the Global Action Plan forward is the development of National Action Plans. Since the launch of the Campaign, National Action Plans have been adopted or are being prepared in countries in Africa, Central Asia and Europe. 5. The Campaign immediately received broad international support, including through the 2014 UN General Assembly resolution on UNHCR (A/Res/69/152), a 2014 resolution on statelessness of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, the Brazil Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by Latin American and Caribbean countries on 3 December 2014 and the Abidjan Declaration of Ministers of ECOWAS Member States on Eradication of Statelessness adopted by 15 West African countries at a conference hosted by Côte d’Ivoire on 25 February 2015. 6. The Campaign also provided the opportunity to re-focus on implementation of the statelessness related pledges made at UNHCR’s 2011 Ministerial Intergovernmental Event. Thirty-nine percent of pledges have now been implemented, up from 22% at the beginning of the reporting period. The number of pledges which remain to be implemented highlights the need for increased support to the governments concerned. 3