INTRODUCTION The Holy See and Palestine participated as observers, as did the following intergovernmental organizations and other entities: African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, Council of Europe, European Union, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Organization for Migration, Japan International Cooperation Agency, League of Arab States, International Organization of the Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The United Nations system was represented as follows: United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Joint Inspection Unit, World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). A total of 43 non-governmental organizations were represented as observers. A number of States took advantage of the Ministerial Intergovernmental Event to voluntarily undertake concrete commitments to improve protection and assistance for refugees and stateless persons, in the form of ‘pledges’. At the request of States, UNHCR developed guidance on the form such pledges might take and on possible pledge themes. Several States presented pledges in the run-up to the event, others announced pledges during the event, and a small number did so thereafter. Chapter III contains the pledges presented prior to, during or after the Ministerial Intergovernmental Event. These pledges represent important voluntary expressions of political will. Chapter II summarizes the pledges and analyzes the themes they cover. The Ministerial Intergovernmental Event included a Special Treaty Event, which enabled States to deposit instruments of accession. During this event, Serbia and Turkmenistan deposited their instruments of accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, respectively. At the Special Treaty Event, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recognized and commended States that had acceded to the Statelessness Conventions in the context of the Commemorations earlier during 2011: namely Croatia, Nigeria, Panama and the Philippines. 11