Meanwhile, UNHCR lobbied for the Brazilian Congress��s accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, disseminating widely the Portuguese version of the Handbook on Nationality and Statelessness: a Guide for Parliamentarians. Complementing the highly successful awareness-raising campaign of Brasileirinhos Apátridas, the handbook increased awareness of statelessness and nationality issues among members of Congress and helped pave the way for accession to the Convention. In 2007, the Brazilian Congress finally scheduled hearings and a vote on the bill, which had been pending for seven years. Two members of the Brasileirinhos Apátridas movement, a former Vice-Consul of Brazil in Zurich and a well-known Brazilian journalist, represented the movement in Brasilia, lobbying members of Congress and drawing sustained media attention to the issue. These efforts paid off when the Brazilian Congress passed the bill, which paved the way for the passage and promulgation of Constitutional Amendment 54/07 on 20 September 2007 (the 2007 Constitutional Amendment). Legislative and constitutional reform to reduce and prevent statelessness Pursuant to the 2007 Constitutional Amendment, Article 12 of the Brazilian Constitution now confers Brazilian citizenship by birth to the following persons: (a) those born in Brazil, even of foreign parents provided they are not working in the service of their country; (b) those born abroad to a Brazilian father or mother working for the Brazilian Government; and (c) those born abroad to either a Brazilian father or mother provided they are either registered with a Brazilian authority abroad (i.e. a consulate) or who reside in Brazil before reaching majority and opt for Brazilian nationality any time after reaching majority. These provisions fully resolve the statelessness problems created by the 1994 Constitutional Amendment. In addition, a special transitional provision sought to resolve the plight of the estimated 200,000 children who had been rendered stateless as a result of the 1994 Constitutional Amendment. According to the revised Article 12 (c) of the Constitution, children born abroad to a Brazilian father or mother between the date of the passage of the 1994 Constitutional Amendment and the date of entry into force of the 2007 Constitutional Amendment were also entitled to acquire Brazilian citizenship by birth, either by registering as nationals of Brazil at consulates abroad or by opting for Brazilian nationality upon reaching majority after residence in Brazil. In this way, the reform not only sought to prevent future cases of statelessness from arising but also to reduce statelessness caused by the 1994 Constitutional Amendment. The Brasileirinhos Apátridas movement continued its community outreach activities. It publicized the 2007 Constitutional Amendment and the transitional provisions among Brazilian diaspora communities and helped individuals to ensure that their children could register with Brazilian authorities abroad to acquire nationality. The debate on nationality rules also served to sensitize the authorities to the issue of statelessness. Already a party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, within a month of the passage of the 2007 Constitutional Amendment Brazil had acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Ultimately, the most persuasive argument that led to the reforms and to Brazil’s accession to the 1961 Statelessness Convention was that it was in the country’s own interests. The reforms helped Brazil to ensure that its nationals living abroad and their offspring would have the opportunity to return and contribute their talents to their homeland’s globalizing society. 21 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS