On 19 November, in Southern Africa, Lawyers for Human Rights conducted a virtual training for members of the judiciary on adjudicating nationality rights. The training aimed at building the capacity of judges to address statelessness and to share developments in international and regional jurisprudence on statelessness. From 7 to 9 December, UNHCR and the Ministry of Justice of Guinea organized a workshop with government officials and civil society to discuss a draft law on the protection of stateless people which would provide for the establishment of a statelessness determination procedure. Participants developed a roadmap towards the adoption of the draft law. On 29 and 30 September, also in South Africa, the Southern African Nationality Network and UNHCR co-hosted a virtual civil society engagement meeting on the eradication of statelessness in Southern Africa. The event was attended by civil society organizations from across the region and aimed at strengthening the role of civil society in addressing statelessness. The participating organizations developed a draft action plan to support states in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in their efforts to eradicate statelessness. The organizations also submitted an appeal to SADC states, calling on members to accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions and to adopt a regional action plan on statelessness. On 3 December, in the Americas, the Latin American and Caribbean Council for Civil Registration, Identity and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV) virtually convened its Annual Assembly. The assembly focused on the right to legal identity in times of a pandemic, among other topics. During a panel moderated by UNHCR on efforts and challenges to address statelessness in the region, civil registry directors from Colombia, Mexico, and Panama shared their experiences and good practices on ensuring access to legal identity in mixed movement situations. On the occasion, UNHCR, CLARCIEV and the Universal Civil Identity Program in the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS) also released the English edition of the Regional Study on Late Birth Registration, Issuance of Nationality Documents and Statelessness. From 2 to 4 November, in Lomé, Togo, the Commissions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC), with UNHCR organized a regional gathering of governments and UNHCR focal points to discuss a draft model law on statelessness determination procedures and protection of and solutions for stateless people. Once finalized, the model law will support the efforts underway in ten countries in the regions covered by the Commissions to adopt dedicated statelessness determination procedures. The organization of the event is in line with ECOWAS’ commitment in the 2017 Banjul Plan of Action to facilitate the implementation of the 1954 Convention in West Africa. The gathering was covered by various media outlets, including Africa News, Africavi and Agence Société Civile Médias. On 9 and 10 September, in Burkina Faso, UNHCR participated in the review of the existing legal framework governing civil registration in the country to ensure that the revised legal framework will reflect commitments made by the Government to strengthen its civil registration system to prevent statelessness. It is anticipated that a new law will be adopted in 2022. On 14 October, UNHCR organized the “Caribbean Subregional Workshop on International Refugee Law and Statelessness”. Over 60 government officials from across the Caribbean including border officials, asylum authorities and eligibility officers attended the workshop. On 27 and 28 September, the Organization of American States (OAS), jointly with UNHCR and IOM, organized the second “Inter-American course on the protection of internally displaced persons, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, returnees in need of protection, stateless persons and victims of trafficking in the Americas”. The 150 members from Permanent Missions to the OAS who participated in the course reviewed international and regional standards on statelessness, shared good practices and reflected on current challenges in the region. From 9 to 12 December, in Washington DC, United States, the stateless persons-led civil society organization United Stateless, with support from UNHCR, held a meeting of approximately 40 stateless individuals and allies to review the accomplishments of the past year and participate in trainings to enhance advocacy skills. UNHCR > The Campaign to End Statelessness | October – December 2021 Update 3