. Identification re ention and reduction o state essness To establish whether a State considers an individual as its national, it is necessary to identify the competent institutional authorities for nationality matters. Competence in this context relates to the authority for conferring or withdrawing nationality from individuals, or for clarifying nationality status where nationality is acquired or withdrawn automatically. The competent authority or authorities will differ from State to State. In many cases there will be more than one competent authority involved, which makes inter-institutional co-operation and co-ordination a pre-requisite to overcome existing hurdles.86 As an example, both the 2011 Zagreb Declaration and the 2013 CoChair Conclusions refer to the need to strengthen co-operation between government institutions, civil society organizations, UN agencies and other stakeholders. This can be done, for instance, by establishing a national coordination mechanism or by formalizing co-operation through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In this regard, the Co-Chairs noted some positive legislative and administrative developments since the adoption of the Zagreb Declaration: for example, that co-operation between stakeholders had advanced from ad-hoc exchanges at the working level to the signing of an MoU between government institutions, civil society organizations and UNHCR, and that this was accompanied by the establishment of a technical working group to implement the MoU.87 The need to step up bilateral and regional co-operation and the reciprocal recognition of documents by countries is a recurring issue that is frequently recommended by international organizations. The Co-Chairs remained concerned about “the need for undocumented persons to travel across borders to their country of former residence to obtain civil documentation required to register their child, to regularize their own stay in their current country of residence or to confirm or acquire nationality”. Therefore, their Conclusions include the recommendation to “enhance bilateral exchanges at the working level to find practical solutions and alternative ways of assisting undocumented individuals that do not require, inter alia, travelling across borders.” 88 Next page: Kosovo. A displaced person receives his identity documents. © ODIHR 61