SANN to develop communication to religious sector, to seek their support in campaign efforts
to end statelessness; and
strengthened collaboration and sharing of information in communities in which SANN
members work in.
V.
PRESENTATIONS BY THE UNHCR (REGIONAL BUREAU FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA)
Presentation on the implementation of the #IBelong Campaign, the GRF platform and pledges:
Emmanuelle Mitte, Senior Protection Officer, UNHCR
On the implementation level of the #IBelong Campaign, the following progress was noted:
4 States are parties to both statelessness conventions, 4 more are parties to the 1954
convention only. Almost all states in the region, which are not yet parties to both
conventions, have pledged to accede
there are gaps in the nationality laws of all countries in the region, albeit to various degrees.
8 countries have pledged to reform their legislations, and 3 have initiated the reform process
birth registration remains a challenge in most countries. While several countries have
pledged to strengthen their system, on the Democratic Republic of Congo has initiated a
comprehensive project to ensure universal birth registration.
data collection also remains a challenge. While several countries have initiated qualitative
data collection exercise, there is no comprehensive project to collect quantitative data.
Nonetheless, Zimbabwe has included questions in its upcoming population census with the
aim of capturing data on the number of stateless persons on its territory.
Civil society was invited to consider the following recommendations:
to advocate towards the development and implementation of a National Action Plan by their
respective States
to engage into robust communication strategy
to enhance access to legal assistance to persons affected by statelessness.
SANN network to expand and develop concrete action plan
CSOs at country level to form national networks on nationality and statelessness
On the GRF Platform and Pledges delivered by States and Non States actors in 2019, the following was
noted:
4