JANUARY – JUNE 2025
instruments establishing the bod responsible for
stateless persons. The workshop produced two
key documents: a draft decree creating the
National Commission for Stateless Persons
(under the Ministry of Justice’s National
Directorate of Judicial Affairs and the Seal) and a
procedural guide for determining stateless status.
statelessness in broader agendas. Participants
called for expanding the Global Alliance
membership, scaling up its Solution Seekers
Programme,
and
advancing
inclusive,
coordinated action to achieve local solutions with
global impact.
In Niger, a Statelessness Working Group for the
Tahoua region was established in June and held
its first meeting in June with participation from
stakeholders nationwide. A new national Alliance
was launched in Diffa to mobilize authorities, UN
agencies, CSOs, and development actors, with a
national evaluation of the Statelessness Action
Plan set for end of July.
The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality
Rights, UNHCR, UN Women and UNICEF copublished The Impact of Women’s Unequal
Nationality
Rights
on
Sustainable
Development in the Middle East and North
Africa Region (available in English and Arabic).
Ensuring women’s equal nationality rights boosts
family well-being and is key to identity, equality,
and development in the Arab region.
Global and
regional updates
In May, OHCHR and UNHCR held an online
Expert Workshop mandated by Human Rights
Council resolution 53/16 to showcase best
practices on equal nationality rights. Over 150
participants, including 27 States, joined two
panels that addressed discrimination in
nationality laws and highlighted solutions from
Thailand, Egypt, Kenya, and Chile. Testimonies
underscored the human impact of deprivation of
nationality, while good practices demonstrated
concrete pathways to reform and inclusion. The
workshop reinforced the importance of equal
nationality rights in preventing and resolving
statelessness.
In May, the Global Alliance to End Statelessness
hosted its first Inter-Regional Network Lab coorganized by the Organization of American States
(OAS), Council of Europe, and the Latin American
and Caribbean Council for Civil Registration,
Identity, and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV), bringing
together around 60 participants from regional
intergovernmental organizations and civil society.
The event showcased regional frameworks and
priorities, from the AU Protocol on the Right to
Nationality and Eradication of Statelessness to
CLARCIEV’s CRVS Week, and emphasized
centering
stateless-led
organizations,
strengthening cooperation, and embedding
UNHCR / DIP Statelessness Section
In June, UNHCR co-hosted the South-East Asia
Sub-Regional Forum on “Inclusivity in CRVS”
with ESCAP and UNFPA. The event emphasized
the role of CRVS systems in achieving the SDGs
and preventing statelessness. A key moment was
the participation of stateless Lua representatives,
who advocated for legal identity and recognition
of community rights in the lead-up to the Third
Ministerial Conference on CRVS.
In June, UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and
the Pacific, with support from Vital Strategies,
organized a reception and launched the
publication “Ending Statelessness Together” at
UNESCAP in Bangkok. The event brought
together government officials, donors, private
sector, civil society, and Global Alliance Member
States (Australia, Thailand, the Philippines and
Turkmenistan), reinforcing that statelessness is
solvable.
In May in Montenegro, the Council of Europe
and UNHCR, with ENS, held a Regional
Roundtable to conclude the Roma Integration
Statelessness Project (June 2024-June 2025).
Western Balkan governments reviewed project
findings, reflected on progress, and reaffirmed
their
commitment
to
address
Roma
statelessness.
In June, the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) virtual meeting with
Refugee Commissioners, held in collaboration
with the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Southern
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