Background and Objectives 1.  Despite laws safeguarding rights to citizenship and providing pathways toward regularization for longstanding residents, millions of people in the world are denied a nationality. The 1954 Convention relating to the status of stateless persons defines a ‘stateless person’ as one “who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law” (UNHCR 2005).4 According to Article 15 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness form the foundation of the international legal framework to prevent and address statelessness (United Nations 1961). Despite legal frameworks and efforts to reduce statelessness, at least 4.2 million people are reported as stateless based on data available from 76 countries (UNHCR 2020). However, the true global figure is estimated to be significantly higher. 2.  Statelessness usually starts in childhood, bringing along multiple legal and socioeconomic deprivations that can last for generations. As many countries around the world observe a jus sanguinis (“right of blood”) nationality regime whereby citizenship is determined by the nationality or citizenship of one or both parents, children of stateless parents ‘inherit’ such a status (Kohn and Gurd 2011). Without a nationality or citizenship, individuals are often denied access to basic human rights, such as education, health, documentation, employment, marriage, and freedom of movement. An estimated one-third of stateless persons are children—without the legal protection that comes with citizenship this minority group is sentenced to a lifetime of social and economic inequity associated with the lack of access to fundamental rights. 3.  UNHCR is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to identify and protect stateless persons and to prevent and reduce statelessness globally. Statelessness and displacement are deeply interlinked, as the former can cause the latter (Norwegian Refugee Council 2015).5 Such a link initially led the United Nations General Assembly to ask UNHCR in 1975 to provide assistance to individuals under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.6 Through a series of resolutions beginning in 1995, UNHCR was officially designated as the agency responsible for overseeing the prevention and reduction of statelessness. Pursuant to this mandate, in consultation with states, civil society, and international organizations, UNHCR has set out the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014–2024, and launched the #IBelong Campaign (UNHCR 2017a). Since the launch of the #IBelong 4 While nationality is acquired through birth, adoption, marriage, or descent, citizenship is granted to an individual by the government of the country when he or she complies with the legal formalities: in doing so, citizenship or nationality not only provides people with a sense of identity, it entitles individuals to the protection of a state and to many civil and political rights (UNHCR 2005). 5 For example, many Rohingyas, despite living in Rakhine for generations, were forced to leave their homes for safety in nearby countries due to a revision in Myanmar citizen law in 1982. The revision of the law deprived them of their nationality, restricting their freedom of movement, access to education, health, employment, and land ownership. https://files.institutesi .org/stateless_displacement_brief.pdf 6 The 1961 Convention, which complements the 1954 Convention relating to the status of stateless persons, is the leading international instrument that sets rules for the conferral and non-withdrawal of citizenship to prevent cases of statelessness from arising by setting out rules to limit the occurrence of statelessness. 1 10183_Shona Report.indd 1 12/14/20 2:56 PM