POLICY BRIEF > The Journey of Shona in Kenya / October 2024 Statelessness today A stateless person is someone who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. – 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Article 1). Globally, an estimated 4.4 million people lack a nationality, leaving them stateless, according to statistics published by UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).[1] In the East, Horn, and Great Lakes of Africa (EHAGL) region, this includes 97,591 stateless persons or persons of undetermined nationality, of whom 9,800 live in Kenya. Given the lack of universal reporting and other gaps in statelessness data, these figures are likely to be an underestimate. Stateless people often live on the margins of society and remain invisible in national statistics and other government population databases due to the complexities of accurate registration and data collection. Lack of identifying documents confirming nationality frequently precludes stateless persons from working in the formal economy, owning property, accessing basic services such as health and education, moving freely or accessing financial services, leaving them at an elevated risk of poverty.[2] Children may face restrictions on attending school, while exclusion from public health services imposes costs on families and creates risks for surrounding communities. [3], [4] Acquiring citizenship, brings the promise of improved employment and earnings,[5] especially among women and the poorest,[6] while also offering broader social and economic benefits, as increases in talent, skills and taxation accompany legalization. Since 2014, more than 500,000 stateless people have acquired a nationality globally. Statelessness for many others has been prevented as a result of efforts to improve birth registration and issuance of nationality documents to populations at risk of statelessness and legislative changes, including those that eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender, allowing women to pass on nationality to their children on an equal basis as men, However, acceleration of efforts is needed to ensure that everyone can enjoy the fundamental right to a nationality, which often enables the enjoyment of other rights and full participation in the society. Kenya has emerged as a global leader in the eradication of statelessness, setting an example for other nations through its continued efforts to reduce the number of stateless persons within its borders. The country has made significant strides, beginning with the recognition of 1,496 members of the Makonde community as nationals of Kenya in 2016, followed by the provision of nationality to 1,659 Shona in 2020-21, and most recently, the recognition as nationals of approximately 7,000 Pemba in 2023. These milestones underscore Kenya’s commitment to addressing statelessness, a commitment reaffirmed at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in December 2023 through four strategic pledges aimed at the progressive eradication of statelessness. Despite these achievements, an estimated 9,800 individuals in Kenya remain stateless today, highlighting the need for sustained efforts to fully resolve this issue. Gaps in law continue to be a contributing cause of statelessness, due to Section 15(1) of the Citizenship and Immigration Act, which limits the scope of the definition of a stateless person to those who were in Kenya when it gained independence on 12 December 1963, excluding many individuals who arrived later, as well as their descendants. In addition, neither the Constitution nor the Citizenship and Immigration Act contain a legal safeguard to ensure that a child born on the territory who would otherwise be statelessness is granted Kenyan nationality. www.unhcr.org 2