6. Reducing and preventing statelessness in Cambodia Statelessness is usually addressed through reduction and prevention. Reduction involves finding solutions that enable stateless persons to acquire citizenship and promote their social inclusion. Prevention of statelessness involves addressing the causes of statelessness so that new cases of statelessness do not arise, and cycles of intergenerational statelessness are broken. UN human rights treaty bodies, the UPR and Cambodian civil society have laid out a range of recommendations that may assist with reducing and preventing statelessness in Cambodia (see also Annex).100 This section builds on these recommendations when considering opportunities for the reduction and prevention of statelessness in the country. Some significant barriers exist in Cambodia to the effective resolution and prevention of statelessness. The first relates to a lack of knowledge and awareness about the phenomenon, including among many key stakeholders, such as authorities, development partners but also in civil society. Most fundamental perhaps is the lack of official acknowledgement of the existence of statelessness in Cambodia, which in turn has flow-on effects on statistical data gathering, social service delivery and more. Despite an increase in overall awareness among a small sub-set of actors, a lack of reliable and comprehensive (public) data about affected populations has inhibited more coordinated action. Furthermore, issues of citizenship and legal identity are frequently considered ‘sensitive’, further nurtured by negative public attitudes vis-à-vis certain minority populations. As a consequence, many stakeholders do not want to talk about or otherwise work on the issue. Tackling these sentiments and discrimination requires careful and context-sensitive approaches that adhere to do-no-harm principles. It also necessitates leadership and change agents from both Cambodia’s majority population and affected communities themselves. These remarks point to a longer-term strategy for the reduction and prevention of statelessness. 100 Nationality For All, Women Peace Makers, Gender and Development for Cambodia, and Khmer Community Development (2023) ’46th Session of the Universal Periodic Review: Cambodia’, Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council, UPR Country Submissions. <https://nationalityforall.org/ wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cambodia-UPR_Statelessness_Final.pdf> 28