Implementation of the Global Action Plan In line with Action 1, Resolve existing major situations of statelessness, Kazakhstan extended the country-wide identification and documentation campaign until May 2022. Since the start of this campaign, more than 7,300 persons of undetermined nationality have been registered. Around 6,000 have since received documentation, 4,100 of them were confirmed as citizens of Kazakhstan, while almost 2,000 received formal statelessness status. Uzbekistan has made progress on Action 1. Since the adoption of a progressive citizenship law in 2020 and further amendments in 2021, the Government of Uzbekistan has reduced the number of stateless cases by half. Some 62,000 recognized stateless persons were granted nationality or had their nationality confirmed, including 33,000 in 2021. Uzbekistan continues to host the largest known stateless population in Central Asia, with close to 38,000 stateless persons. In the first quarter of 2022, further progress was made to implement Action 2: Ensure that no child is born stateless. In the Philippines, the Foundling Recognition and Protection Act was approved by the Senate on 31 January. The Bill ensures that foundlings, including those who have already reached the age of majority, are recognized as Filipino citizens. Through the Bill, the Philippines aims to formalize the 2016 court rulings on this matter and implement Article 2 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Bill is now pending approval and enactment by the Office of the President. The Act is in line with the country’s National Action Plan and the pledge submitted at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness to enhance the legal framework to effectively prevent statelessness. In the Philippines, in line with Action 6: Grant protection status to stateless migrants and facilitate their naturalization the Supreme Court adopted the judiciary-led Rule on Facilitated Judicial Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Persons. The Rule expedites the naturalization process for stateless persons and refugees, reduces the costs of the proceedings, and introduces improved procedures related to applications of unaccompanied children. The Rule further introduces eased requirements related to documentary proof, recognizing the specific limitations stateless persons and refugees may have in this regard. The Rule is in line with the government’s 2019 High-Level Segment on Statelessness pledge to strengthen its domestic legal framework in line with the 1954 Convention. On 28 February, the President of the Philippines signed an executive order establishing the InterAgency Committee on the Protection of Refugees, Stateless Persons and Asylum Seekers with the mandate to ensure the provision of relevant services and assistance. The executive order further institutionalized access to protection services for refugees, stateless persons, and asylum seekers. The Government of Brazil, with support from UNHCR, continued its efforts to facilitate access to the statelessness determination procedure. Jointly developed information materials provide step-bystep guidance on how to apply for statelessness status on the SisApatridia online applications which was launched in 2021. The material also raises awareness on statelessness, its causes, and the legislative framework in Brazil. The materials will be disseminated digitally and printed, including through civil society actors, the Federal Police and at points of entry to Brazil, such as international airports and land borders. In line with Action 7: Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness, efforts to raise awareness on the importance of birth registration and to facilitate access continued in Kenya. UNHCR, the Haki Centre Organization and the local Civil Registrar in Malindi organized a community sensitization and birth certificate distribution exercise in the Magarini area in Kilifi County. The issuance of birth certificates followed a mobile registration exercise conducted in December 2021, during which 2,356 applications were made. The exercise targeted members of the stateless Pemba community and other members of the community in the area. UNHCR > The Campaign to End Statelessness | January – March 2022 Update 6