Campaign, more than 166,000 stateless persons have acquired or had their nationality confirmed, and many states have complied with the statelessness convention resolutions. In 2019, UNHCR convened a High-Level Segment on Statelessness that generated 360 pledges of concrete actions, most of which were delivered by states.7 Despite these achievements, the challenge of identifying stateless persons and those at risk contributes to the prevalence of statelessness (UNHCR 2018). 4.  Statelessness remains a significant, yet inadequately documented problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is the second largest hosting region of stateless persons in the world, after Asia and the Pacific.8 From the limited data available to UNHCR, 23 percent of the world’s stateless persons (974,988) live in this region, of whom some 98 percent live in West and Central Africa compared to 2 percent in the East and Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes (EHAGL) region (UNHCR 2019). Despite the large number of stateless persons in this region, governments in Africa have only recently recognized it as a serious problem and many are now taking steps to address it.9 However, the scope of the problem still remains poorly documented due to, among other reasons, the common misconception that all refugees are stateless and the overlap between the official stateless population and the much larger population of undocumented persons who are unaware of their official nationality status (Mules 2019). Therefore, important socioeconomic data gaps on statelessness persist. I.  Statelessness in Kenya 5.  Kenya is home to an estimated 18,500 stateless persons, making it the largest hosting nation in the EHAGL region.10 In Kenya, there are different groups of stateless persons, including the Pemba, Galjael, Shona, and groups of individuals of Burundian, Congolese, Indian, and Rwandan descent, many of whom have been in the country for decades or even generations. These populations inherited statelessness from their ancestors, as the Kenyan Constitution at the time of independence lacked a provision for the recognition of stateless persons as Kenyans (UNHCR 2017b). The revised 2010 Kenya Constitution gives prominence to citizenship, which is implemented by the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Acts (KCIA) of 2011. Section 15 of the KCIA 2011 indicates that stateless persons living in Kenya for a continuous period since December 12, 1963, may be considered for citizenship upon fulfilling set criteria.11 However, a lack of information on the existence of this legislation and unfamiliarity with the process, as well as the inability to invoke the relevant registration provisions, still leave many in statelessness. While the constitution also guarantees every child the right to a name and nationality from birth, it does not include specific safeguards to protect individuals from statelessness.12 7 For a complete list of pledges, see https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-on-statelessness/ 8 Statelessness in Africa is deeply embedded in discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, or gender; the transfer of territory between existing states, conflicting nationality laws; and migration, nomadism, and forced displacement (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion 2017). 9 For instance, the African Human Rights System, a composition of several human rights treaties between African Union Member States, has developed its position and guidance on the right to nationality, while the Abidjan Declaration by the Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has shown that there is a political will to eradicate statelessness. 10 The estimated number of stateless persons is derived from the communities. 11 Kenya: s.15 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011, Act No. 11 of 2011, 30 August 2011, available at: https://www .refworld.org/docid/4fd9a3082.html 12 For instance, it does not contain adequate guarantees to ensure that children of stateless persons who would otherwise be stateless can acquire nationality (Abuya 2010). 2  Understanding the Socioeconomic Conditions of the Stateless Shona Community in Kenya 10183_Shona Report.indd 2 12/14/20 2:56 PM