identify knowledge gaps. The countries covered are the ones included in the current definition of the MENA Region at both UNHCR and OHCHR, i.e. Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. OHCHR contributed with a review of the international and regional norms and standards related to the human rights of stateless persons, including the right to a nationality. . At country level this took the form of a legal review of legislative texts relevant to statelessness in Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait the United Arab Emirates and Egypt and an assessment of their compatibility with international norms and standards. The study also identified protection gaps and highlighted recent attempts to address and protect the rights of stateless persons. A searchable thematic data-base with all these texts was developed and will constitute the foundation for a comprehensive research tool covering the entire MENA region. With input from its offices in a number of countries in the region, UNHCR presented the results of an overview of statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa 1 , in terms of magnitude, populations and human rights protection. This review identified the major stateless populations in the region and set out the consequences of statelessness and overall degree of enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of stateless persons. UNHCR also presented good practices with regard to the prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. .. The expert meeting The second stage of the joint UNHCR and OHCHR research-action process was the convening of a regional expert meeting on 18-19 February 2010 in Amman on The Human Rights of Stateless Persons in the Middle East and North Africa Region. The event was designed to provide opportunities for discussion informed by the preliminary research findings in the two studies and identification of follow up activities for each of the conveners and other partners. As such, the meeting sought to contribute to strengthening OHCHR-UNHCR involvement in the issue of the rights of stateless persons, including by: (a) (b) (c) Disseminating reliable data on the characteristics and dimension of statelessness and the rights of stateless persons in MENA countries and agreeing on a follow-up research. Assessing gaps related to enjoyment of rights and acquisition of nationality between current national legislation, administrative procedures and practices, and regional and international norms and standards. Contributing to changing the perception of stateless persons as “outsiders” or statelessness as exclusively a security concern and introducing issues of protection and enjoyment of human rights (civil, cultural, economic, political and social) to the debate. 1 Covering the following: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. 4