#IBELONG CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW: A Decade of Vision, Collaboration and Achievement Over the past decade, UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign has raised awareness of statelessness around the world, while urging governments to address the policy and legal gaps that leave millions of people without a nationality. Governments have strengthened their legal frameworks on the right to nationality and protection of stateless persons • Since the start of the campaign in 2014, the international community has made significant progress through the combined efforts of States, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, academic institutions, regional networks, and organizations led by stateless people. #IBelong was established by UNHCR with a singular, powerful purpose: to end statelessness for millions of people around the world who are prevented from their full enjoyment of human rights by being denied their right to a nationality. Being stateless can lead to a lifetime – or even generations – of discrimination, societal marginalization, economic disadvantages, and lack of basic rights. Statelessness also hinders achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ overarching aim to “leave no one behind,” since that objective cannot be achieved unless all persons are recognized as full members of society. • • We have access to more reliable data to inform shared efforts to end statelessness Here are some of the things we’ve accomplished together in the past 10 years: • Countries have made significant progress in resolving existing situations of statelessness – overall, more than 565,900 stateless people and persons with undetermined nationality gained nationality. For example: • • • • • Kyrgyzstan has resolved all known cases of statelessness – the first-ever country to achieve this important milestone Kenya has granted nationality to members of the Makonde, Shona and Pemba minority groups Viet Nam has addressed statelessness among former Cambodian refugees, therefore helping resolve a protracted situation Turkmenistan is on track to resolve known cases of statelessness among thousands of former citizens of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) with undetermined nationality More States have become parties to the 1954 and 1961 UN Statelessness Conventions • Before and during the #Belong campaign, UNHCR stepped up advocacy efforts and calls for States to accede to Statelessness Conventions. As a result – since 2010 – there have been a total of 77 new accessions, representing a 76 per cent increase. More than 20 countries (including Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), Paraguay, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uruguay) have adopted new laws and policies to better protect stateless persons Thirteen States (Albania, Armenia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Estonia, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, the Philippines, and Tajikistan) have enacted laws to help ensure that no child is born stateless Three countries (Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone) have advanced gender equality by granting women the right to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis as men, which helps prevent childhood statelessness • The number of countries for which data on statelessness was reported or otherwise available increased from 77 countries in 2014 to 95 in 2023 (according to UNHCR’s Global Trends Report), helping present a more comprehensive look at statelessness situations around the world Qualitative studies in several countries and regions have improved our shared knowledge of statelessness around the world through analyses of legal and policy frameworks, interviews, testimonies and other personal accounts that help increase understanding and complement statistical exercises The International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS) was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2023, helping strengthen collection, usage and analysis nationally, regionally and globally. These achievements form a solid foundation for future collaboration and action to end statelessness. In addition, States and other actors have made more than 400 pledges – at events such as the two Global Refugee Forums – to address statelessness. This is a critical and unprecedented statement of political will, and now is the time to act on these commitments. It is time to end statelessness once and for all. #IBELONG 11