to pass language tests which may be pre-requisites to the acquisition of
nationality. Similarly, livelihood generating activities not only improve the
daily lives of stateless persons and their families, but also help them meet
naturalization requirements related to a stable income.
C. UN SYSTEM ARRANGEMENTS
The UN supports Member States in addressing situations of statelessness as integral to
its efforts to strengthen the rule of law at the national and international levels. The
expertise and activities of numerous UN departments, offices, funds, agencies and
programmes are relevant to address situations of statelessness, including its causes
and consequences. Involvement of a broad range of UN entities is required to address
the problem effectively together with States, other international and regional
organizations, NGOs, and community-based organisations.
As noted above, UNHCR has a specific mandate entrusted to it by the General
Assembly in 1995 to prevent and reduce statelessness and protect stateless persons.
This global mandate complements UNHCR’s role as the UN agency responsible for
assisting individuals and States to resolve the situation of individuals under the 1961
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
At the same time, effectively addressing statelessness requires a collaborative effort,
and the mobilization and coordination of the requisite expertise. All UN agencies that
work with stateless populations can address protection concerns in their respective
sectors. Below is a non-exhaustive list of such areas as well as an indication of some
of the relevant agencies, apart from UNHCR:
•
creating political will to address statelessness (Department of Political Affairs
(DPA)/Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)/UN Country Teams);
•
procedural and substantive advice in peace negotiations and electoral systems
and processes, to seize opportunities to reform relevant nationality laws and
policies (DPA/DPKO);
•
promoting the prevention and reduction of statelessness as an element of good
governance, the rule of law, and access to justice (United Nations
Development Programme);
•
ensuring that national laws and policies on citizenship respect international
law (Office of Legal Affairs);
•
ensuring that national laws and policies respect international human rights
related to nationality (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
including human rights treaty bodies and special procedures);
•
child protection, including the improved respect for the right of every child to
acquire a nationality (United Nations Children's Fund);
•
gender equality to ensure that women enjoy equal rights as men with respect to
nationality laws and policies (UN Women);
•
collection and analysis of population data to improve identification of stateless
persons and populations (United Nations Population Fund, United Nations
regional economic commissions); and
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