Unit 8 [core unit] Reducing statelessness (2): Addressing large-scale statelessness situations through dedicated reduction campaigns Summary This unit turns to the challenge of resolving existing cases of statelessness in practice, looking in particular at dedicated, largescale reduction campaigns. Examples are given of the content of such campaigns which could be based on specially adopted laws to tackle statelessness, existing naturalization provisions or legislative amendments designed to prevent future statelessness that are applied with retroactive effect. Any such campaign necessarily involves a number of steps: from identifying, clarifying or elaborating the necessary legal foundation for reducing statelessness; to mobilising and building the capacity of all relevant actors (government, civil society, persons affected) to implement the reduction campaign; to supervising the implementation of the campaign and ensuring that a remedy is available for anyone who is overlooked. Students are asked to consider what is involved at each stage - design, implementation and Learning objectives • Discuss legislative solutions to large-scale statelessness situations, how a reduction campaign may take shape and what basic considerations come into play in the design, implementation and monitoring of such a campaign. monitoring - of such campaigns and what difficulties may arise. In addition, time allowing, students could take a closer look at activities that have been undertaken as a precursor to a large-scale reduction campaign, such as research, awareness-raising and lobbying efforts in order to discover what can be done to move a protracted situation of statelessness closer to resolution. • Explain the importance of working in partnership for the success of a large-scale reduction campaign and describe how different actors may contribute to different elements of the campaign. • Identify barriers that may exist to the implementation of a large-scale reduction campaign, including those relating to the State and those relating to the population concerned. Readings and information sources Key readings Beyond Borders – Strengthening asylum in Ukraine, Bulletin No. 5 of UNHCR in Ukraine, 2005. * UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/42bbff3f2.pdf Southwick, M. Lynch, Nationality Rights for All. A progress report and global survey on statelessness, section on * K. “Drawing lessons from recent progress in statelessness cases”, Refugees International, Washington DC, March 2009. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49be193f2.html Sivapragasam, “From statelessness to citizenship: Up-country Tamils in Sri Lanka” in B. Blitz, M. Lynch (eds.) * P. Statelessness and the benefits of citizenship: A comparative study, Research Project for the Swiss Initiative to Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the UDHR, 2009. http://www.udhr60.ch/report/statelessness_paper0609.pdf UNHCR Action to Address Statelessness: A Strategy Note, March 2010, paras. 41-47 on “Reduction – seeking * UNHCR, solutions for stateless populations”. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b9e0c3d2.html A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 35