Media Impact of
the Campaign
In September, UNHCR issued a
press release to mark the decision
by the Dominican Republic to
naturalize around 750 people
born and raised in the country
who were previously without
Dominican citizenship due to the
immigration status of their parents.
November 2020 marked the
6th anniversary of the #IBelong
Campaign to End Statelessness,
which was commemorated through
numerous events around the globe.
The singer Jaojoby, a high-level supporter of the #IBelong Campaign in Madagascar,
intervenes during a debate on the right to a nationality to commemorate the 6th anniversary of
the Campaign. © Inviktus Laboratory
among children by posting on social media using
the hashtags #IBelong #EndStatelessness #ЯІсную.
A global press release marking the Campaign
anniversary ‘UNHCR urges states to end limbo for
stateless people by 2024’ generated 80 pieces of
coverage. Multimedia stories were published on
UNHCR’s global website on the situation of the
Shona population in Kenya and about a woman who
finally gained Russian citizenship in 2018.
In Zambia, on 11 November, UNHCR published an
open letter to the Government of Zambia in the
Times of Zambia and other major media platforms,
applauding the efforts taken by the Government
to date to eradicate statelessness and calling for
accelerated momentum to address remaining issues.
In Kosovo2 , UNHCR published two videos with key
messages on the importance of birth registration
for the prevention of statelessness. The videos
were produced with contributions from influential
community members, UNHCR and UNICEF.
To mark the anniversary in Eswatini, UNHCR
conducted a training on statelessness for journalists
working for radio stations, TV and newspapers. The
training built the capacity of participants to report
on statelessness, and it is hoped that the issue and
the #IBelong Campaign will receive greater attention
from the media in the future.
In Luxembourg, UNHCR produced a Luxembourgish
version of UNHCR’s key calls to the European Union
to end Statelessness in order to raise awareness of
the key role EU Member States can play in ending
statelessness.
In Italy, UNHCR organized an Instagram feed
“takeover” with five stateless persons living in Italy
and abroad. In the course of the week, they shared
their experiences in order to raise awareness about
statelessness and the importance of achieving the
objectives of the #IBelong Campaign. The Instagram
“takeover” and related sponsored posts and content
on Facebook and Twitter reached an audience of
over one hundred and ninety thousand people.
In Madagascar, the NGO Focus Development
Association (FDA) conducted capacity building
sessions for local print, television and radio journalists
in three project intervention sites: Mahajanga,
Fianarantsoa and Toliara. About sixty journalists
received training concerning statelessness. Several
articles were published following the training, including
in the newspapers Studio Sifaka and L’Express de
Madagascar. FDA, with the support of UNHCR, also
celebrated the anniversary through the streaming of a
Facebook talk show on “the right to nationality”.
In Ukraine, UNHCR invited the public to join the
Campaign, emphasizing the importance of birth
registration for the prevention of statelessness
2
All References to Kosovo in this document shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).
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