Panel discussion on statelessness Panel discussion on statelessness The HLS began with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Cate Blanchett, interviewing statelessness activist, Maha Mamo, about her decades-long struggle to obtain a nationality. This was followed by a high-level panel discussion among Cate Blanchett; Maha Mamo; UN Deputy SecretaryGeneral, Amina Mohammed; UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi; and High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Lamberto Zannier. The discussion was moderated by British TV journalist and presenter, Anita Rani. The forum showed the tangible effects of statelessness on individuals, reinforcing to States and other attendees of the HLS that legislative changes to address statelessness are not simply a matter of changing laws but changing lives. Quotes from the panel discussion “What does it feel like to be stateless? And how can we make statelessness tangible and visible, and give it the attention it deserves so we can eradicate it once and for all? There are some very tangible items I have that show that I belong. Day-to-day objects that I take for granted, to be quite frank: my passport, my credit card …, my Medicare card, and something as simple as my drivers’ license. I’d like you just for a moment to think about the items you have in your own wallet or purse, and how they define you, and what they entitle you to, and what doors they open for you, and how difficult your life would be if you lost these documents, or in fact, never had them in the first place. “Every inch of our world is divided into States. States, which you all represent. But where do those people go who don’t belong anywhere? Who are stateless? The stateless people that I have had the privilege to meet tell me that they feel invisible. They are a human void, like this empty chair. All of us who occupy chairs here have the right to a nationality. We exist, we belong. Stateless persons are unseen, and unheard”. Cate Blanchett, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador U N H C R > H I G H - L E V E L S E G M E N T O N S T A T E L E S S N E S S : R E S U LT S A N D H I G H L I G H T S 9