Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Southern African Nationality Network and Lawyers for Human Rights Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 35th Session of the Universal Periodic Review Lesotho Introduction 1. The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), the Southern African Nationality Network (SANN) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) make this joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the right to a nationality and human rights challenges pertaining to statelessness in Lesotho. 2. ISI1 is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting an integrated, human rights-based response to the injustice of statelessness and exclusion. Established in August 2014, it is the first and only global centre committed to promoting the human rights of stateless persons and ending statelessness. The Institute has made over 40 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons, and also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 34th UPR Sessions. 3. LHR is a South African human rights organisation committed to social justice activism and strategic public interest litigation. LHR is currently the coordinator of the Southern African branch of the Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI) network. In 2011, LHR launched the Statelessness Project as part of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme. LHR provides direct legal services to stateless persons; engages government on the need for legal reform to prevent and reduce statelessness; raises awareness on the rights of stateless people; and advocates for accession to the 1954 and 1961 UN statelessness conventions.2 4. SANN is a collective of civil society organisations, individuals and networks working towards universal access to the right to a nationality and prevention of statelessness in Southern Africa. The motto “Freedom in Belonging” underscores the belief that without belonging concretised by formal nationality, African individuals and communities can never be free. The network aspires to collaborate to improve data and statistics on statelessness in Southern Africa; advocate for universal access to nationality and birth registration; advocate for the adoption of the draft African Union Protocol on the Specific Aspects on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa; improve access to individual legal assistance to ensure nationality rights for all Africans.3 1 For more information about the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, see: www.institutesi.org. 2 For more information about Lawyers for Human Rights, see : www.lhr.org.za. 3 For more information about SANN, see: www.sann.africa. 1