SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC TABLE 30 TABLE 31 Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in the Pacific Reported stateless population in the Pacific Country Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Total ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ Stateless 2 3 ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ Refugee 3 ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ 8 ICCPR ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ ✅ 7 ICESCR ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ ⛔ 6 ICERD ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ⛔ 7 CRC ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 14 2019 (year start)1311 2020 (year end)1312 2021 (year end)1313 2022 (year end)1314 Australia – 5,221 7,700 8,314 Federated States of Micronesia – – – – Fiji – – – – Kiribati – – – – Marshall Islands – – – – Nauru – – 130 6 Country CEDAW ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ ✅ ⛔ ✅ ✅ New Zealand – – – – Palau – – – – Papua New Guinea – – 8 – Samoa – – – – Solomon Islands – – – – Tonga – – – – Tuvalu – – – – Vanuatu – – – – TOTALS – 5,221 7,838 8,320 12 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022 Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness Treaty ratification status Treaty accession is highly varied across the Pacific. Australia, New Zealand and Fiji have perfect, or near perfect ratification rates. Comparatively Palau has the lowest rates of treaty accession to the relevant treaties of any State in the AsiaPacific region. Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Micronesia, Nauru and Samoa all have below average rates of treaty accession. No countries in the region have formalised statelessness determination procedures. Population Reported stateless persons Only three States in the Pacific reported stateless populations to UNHCR in 2022, with a combined figure totalling 8,329 persons (Australia (8,314), Nauru (6), Papua New Guinea (9)).1305 Between 116 2021 and 2022, the stateless population in the Pacific increased by 491 persons1306, a much smaller increase than the reported populations between 2020 and 2021, which increased by 2,468 persons.1307 The increase between 2020 and 2021 resulted entirely from within Australia.1308 Nauru saw a significant decrease in its reported stateless population, decreasing from 130 in 2021 to only 6 in 2022.1309 Notably, no States in the Pacific reported a stateless population to UNHCR in 2019.The lack of a comprehensive statelessness identification procedure in Australia and Papua New Guinea contribute to a lack of data on the stateless population in these countries. While New Zealand reported 2,364 refugees and asylum seekers to UNHCR in 2022, it is possible that some of this population may also be stateless, as seen in the case of AL (Myanmar).1310 However, due to the lack of mapping or statistics in New Zealand on statelessness, this remains uncertain. STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Pledges to End Statelessness At the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, Australia made a pledge “to become members of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness (once established) to actively and collaboratively support the vision of a world free from statelessness so that everyone enjoys the right to nationality without discrimination”.1315 Two States, Australia and Papua New Guinea, made pledges relating to statelessness at the Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons in 2011.1316 Australia pledged to “better identify stateless persons and assess their claims” and “to minimis[e] the incidence of statelessness and to ensur[e] that stateless persons are treated no less favourably than people with an identified nationality”.1317 Regarding the fulfillment of these pledges, Australia has yet to implement a statelessness determination procedure.1318 Recently, at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, Australia made a further pledge “to become members of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness (once established) to actively and collaboratively support the vision of a world free from statelessness so that everyone enjoys the right to nationality without discrimination”.1319 Papua New Guinea in 2011 pledged to amend its legislation to be able to remove the reservations made to the Refugee Convention and facilitate access to naturalization of “West Papuan and other refugees by either waiving all fees or introducing a nominal fee only for applications for citizenship by refugees”.1320 While Papua New Guinea has made progressive strides by removing all reservations on the Refugee Convention regarding refugees sent from Australia, legislative improvement is required for persons in other contexts.1321 Papua New Guinea has also been successful in reducing the fees required for citizenship applications1322 and removed the fee entirely for West Papuan refugees.1323 REPORT 2024 117