Representatives from the Government of Viet Nam, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and UNHCR after a panel discussion launching a
report on legal identity for women and children. © UNHCR
On 15 and 16 December, UNHCR and the Directorate
General for Migration Management (DGMM) of
Turkey co-organized a two-day workshop on
Statelessness Determination Procedures (SDPs)
targeting technical experts of the DGMM and
its Provincial Directorates. Following interactive
discussions on procedural safeguards, coordination
between refugee and statelessness status
determination and good practices, standard
operational procedures on SDPs were formulated to
provide guidance to the Provincial Directorates.
Participants included government officials, civil
society partners, diplomatic corps and academia.
On 24 November, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and UNHCR opened the photo exhibition
“WE BELONG: Global Faces of Statelessness” at
the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) in
commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the
global #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness.
The opening was attended by government officials,
representatives of the diplomatic community, civil
society and UN agencies. Tuenjai Deetes, a regional
finalist of the Nansen Refugee Award, gave a speech
on ongoing efforts to end statelessness in Thailand.
On 30 September, the newly formed Government of
Belgium adopted an agreement regarding its plans
for the next four years, which includes an intention
to search for solutions for individuals who cannot
go back to their country of origin, such as stateless
persons.
On 17 November, the Government of Viet Nam, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and UNHCR organized a panel discussion to
launch a report on “Legal identity for all women
and children” from the ASEAN Commission on
the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of
Women and Children (ACWC). The aim of the event
was to initiate consultations on ways to translate
the recommendations into practice. All ACWC
representatives, representatives from relevant
ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and ACWC partners joined
the event.
On 11 November, in Croatia, UNHCR organized an
online presentation of its report ‘Analysis of the
Legal Framework Concerning Stateless Persons and
Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Croatia’ which
was published in July this year. The analysis offers
recommendations for enhancing protection against
statelessness and serves as an important advocacy
tool for addressing statelessness in Croatia with
governmental and civil society stakeholders.
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