In Lebanon, UNHCR and its partner Siren Associates released the study “Mapping and understanding statelessness in Akkar” aimed at understanding statelessness affecting persons of Lebanese origin in Akkar Governate in northern Lebanon. Among other things, the study has improved UNHCR and partners’ understanding of affected communities in the area, with the research also highlighting the multi-faceted implications for communities whose nationality is not recognized. Media Impact of the Campaign On March 8, in India, UNHCR marked International Women’s Day by releasing a first of three human-interest stories on stateless Rohingya refugees, focusing on the importance of women’s empowerment. The three stories highlight the importance of birth registration for the Rohingya community. On 10 February, the Government of Serbia and UNHCR published a joint press release following a ceremony to celebrate the signing of the third Memorandum of Understanding between UNHCR and the government. The ceremony was also covered by several national media outlets. On 14 January, in North Macedonia, UNHCR posted a video explaining the need to end statelessness in North Macedonia and highlighting the impact of statelessness on an individual’s life. Further social media coverage was provided in North Macedonia, including on the meeting with the newly appointed Minister of Labor and Social Policy, and on the celebration of the International Women’s Day. On 2 March, celebrating 30 years of Central Asian states’ membership of the UN, UNHCR issued a press release commending the efforts of Central Asian States to end statelessness. In 2021, over 46,000 stateless persons acquired a nationality in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan, while Turkmenistan fulfilled one of its HighLevel Segment pledges and enacted a national statelessness determination procedure. Upcoming Events On the occasion of the International Day Against Racial Discrimination 21 March 2022, UNHCR, OHCHR and the non-governmental organization Freemuse, launched a contest for minority artists who have exposed, explored, and/or addressed matters relating to statelessness through their artwork. The contest is organized to support minority artists’ work on statelessness and to increase the visibility of their artwork, while raising awareness on the human rights of stateless individuals and groups belonging to minorities. Deadline for submissions is 21 June 2022. The award-winners will be announced on 4 November 2022, the 8th anniversary of the #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness. In partnership with UNHCR, the International Institute of Humanitarian Law will organize the 2022 course on statelessness in Arabic. The online course will take place between 6 June – 1 July. It is designed for government officials and NGOs dealing with stateless persons or addressing statelessness in their country. Applications can be submitted here. Campaign Resources Want to support the Campaign? Take a look at our #IBelong website and post a digital banner on your website, mobilize your social media contacts by sharing one of our posts, download and post our Twitter cards or embed a short video that explains statelessness. Videos, photo essays and web stories can be found on our #IBelong stories page. Legal resources are available on Refworld. unhcr.org/ibelong UNHCR > The Campaign to End Statelessness | January – March 2022 Update 8