POLICY BRIEF > The Journey of Shona in Kenya / October 2024 identity systems can serve as a platform for more effective and efficient service delivery by enabling the unique identification and verification of persons. Importantly, proof of legal identity can promote greater inclusion by derisking and reducing the costs of service delivery. Well-designed and universally accessible foundational ID systems can promote reconciliation and a sense of national unity and identity. [11] Acquiring Kenyan citizenship has significantly improved the socioeconomic conditions of the Shona community, enabling them to access essential services, economic opportunities, and social benefits. Before gaining citizenship in 2020, the Shona faced numerous barriers due to their stateless status, which excluded them from formal employment, financial services, and government programs. Following the acquisition of nationality, the Shona now enjoy access to legal identity documents, increased livelihood opportunities, better health insurance access, and financial inclusion. These positive changes align with findings in the academic literature, which highlight the importance of citizenship in reducing poverty and enhancing human capital by allowing individuals to leverage government services, engage in formal employment, and contribute more productively to society. Citizenship has also enhanced the Shona community’s labor market potential, though employment rates are still recovering from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal identity has granted many Shona individuals the ability to seek formal employment and broaden their economic activities beyond informal selfemployment. This has enabled the community to slowly rebuild their livelihoods post-pandemic. Nevertheless, employment levels remain below pre-pandemic rates, especially for women, reflecting challenges in labor market reintegration. The employment rate for women dropped from 72 percent in 2019 to 61 percent in 2024, suggesting a slower recovery in sectors traditionally dominated by women. Overall, the Shona community’s gradual employment recovery indicates the value of citizenship in building economic resilience and highlights the need for continued support to ensure inclusive recovery for all members of the community. The Shona experience provides valuable lessons for addressing statelessness and promoting inclusive development for other stateless communities globally. Gaining citizenship has been transformative for the Shona, granting them access to a range of socioeconomic benefits and reducing their vulnerability to poverty and exclusion. This case underscores the importance of grant of nationality to stateless populations and its potential to unlock economic and social opportunities that drive sustainable development. As more countries around the world seek to address statelessness through legislative changes and the expansion of citizenship rights, the Kenyan experience with the Shona can serve as a model. By providing legal identity and addressing structural barriers, policymakers can empower stateless communities to participate more fully in their economies and societies, leading to improved livelihoods, social cohesion, and economic growth. These findings have broader implications for the many stateless individuals in the East, Horn, and Great Lakes of Africa region, as well as the millions of stateless people globally, demonstrating that resolving statelessness is not only a matter of human rights but also of inclusive economic development. Recommendations 1. Develop holistic, long-term policy frameworks that address the socioeconomic and human rights dimensions of statelessness. National governments and international stakeholders should adopt inclusive development policies that go beyond legal recognition to ensure the full social and economic integration of stateless and formerly stateless populations. This entails ensuring equitable access to education, healthcare, employment, and social protection services for newly recognized citizens. Governments should be encouraged to introduce targeted social safety nets and employment support programs to reduce poverty and promote resilience among stateless and formerly stateless groups. UNHCR and the World Bank, in partnership with national governments and NGOs, can provide technical www.unhcr.org 10