ACTION 5: Prevent statelessness in cases of State succession Emergence of new States and transfers of territory between existing States (State succession) have led to mass statelessness on numerous occasions. In the case of separation or dissolution, although most individuals automatically become citizens of newly independent States when nationality legislation is adopted, large numbers can be left stateless. Migration movements before and at the time of independence as well as discrimination against marginalized ethnic and social groups may create risks of statelessness. New identification documents change lives in Moldova State succession occurs for multiple reasons: when part of the territory of one State is transferred to another State, when the territories from a State separate into one or more new States, or when a State dissolves and results in the formation of two or more States. The dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1991 led to 15 nations – and, subsequently, thousands of former Soviet nationals were rendered stateless. One such example is the Republic of Moldova. Like many countries affected by the aftermath of state succession, a large portion of Moldova’s population was left stateless. More than two decades after its independence, over 220,000 people in Moldova still held expired Soviet identification cards, which prevented them from accessing a variety of rights and services, including social assistance and voting. One of the most marginalized groups was the elderly: without the ability to navigate complex systems to procure updated identification documents, and lacking the financial wherewithal to seek legal advice, they often languished in uncertainty and poverty. Many older people in Moldova were living on less than 1000 Lei (about 50 Euro) per month. With support from UNHCR and its partner, the Legal Center of Advocates (LCA) – and as part of the #IBelong Campaign – the Government of Moldova made extensive changes to the process of obtaining identification. It began offering ID cards for free. Additionally, the Government sent mobile teams to help those who couldn’t visit offices in person. UNHCR distributed information leaflets to pensioners to explain the new provisions. And LCA established a telephone hotline for free legal assistance. The revised policies and processes were enormously successful: by June 2015, at least 212,000 people benefited from new identification documents. That’s one out of 20 Moldovan citizens. It remains one of Europe’s biggest campaigns to prevent and resolve statelessness. Since then, the Republic of Moldova has continued to build on this success, collaborating with UNHCR and other partners. As of the end of 2023, only about 6,700 citizens of the Republic of Moldova still held Soviet-type passports, according to government statistics, with efforts to reduce this number further ongoing. #IBELONG 27