1. General The first ministerial regional conference on statelessness in West Africa1 took place from 23 to 25 February 2015 in Abidjan. This event, organized by UNHCR and ECOWAS, was attended by more than 350 persons including high level officials of ECOWAS member States, the African Union and the United Nations, as well as experts from Governments2, regional and international organizations, National Human Rights Institutions, civil society and universities. Family photo The experts segment, on 23-24 February, resulted in the adoption of 62 recommendations to end statelessness in the region. Many experts had in recent years participated in meetings and training on statelessness and were therefore familiar with the issue. The ministerial segment of the conference was held on 25 February, and resulted in the adoption of a 26-point Declaration. It was opened by the President of Côte d’Ivoire in the presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for West Africa and the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union. 15 ECOWAS Governments were represented, including 10 at ministerial level. The testimonies of the soprano Barbara Hendricks, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Alfaro, leader of the musical group Magic System, as well as former stateless persons have enabled the topic of statelessness to resonate more strongly with the public. Media coverage of the event was also far-reaching. Many international and regional media