Unit 12 [core unit] Tackling statelessness: Whose job is it and what prospects are there for the future? Summary This unit provides students with the opportunity to reflect on what has been learnt in the preceding units and to think about how statelessness can be tackled most effectively, now and in the future. Consideration is given to the wide variety of actors that may be involved in responding to statelessness and the role of each actor – taking into account its responsibility (for example under international law) and what the actor has to offer in terms of expertise, capacity, access, etc. Special attention is paid to the role of States. The focus is then turned to UNHCR, with an explanation of the agency’s global mandate on statelessness and a look at the types of activities that it has undertaken to date. Among the other actors that can be discussed are UN agencies, the Human Rights treaty bodies, regional organizations (such as the Council of Europe) and human rights mechanisms (such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights), NGOs and affected populations. This is also an opportunity to present and discuss some of the latest developments – accession to the Statelessness Conventions, newly adopted instruments, case law, UNHCR activities, NGO campaigns, etc. It may be of interest, in this context, to remind students of the motivation for individuals, States and the international community to address statelessness, as discussed in earlier units. Time allowing, students could also be asked to reflect on broader questions relating to the regulation of citizenship in the modern world – the parameters of inclusion and exclusion – and what importance should be attributed to nationality now and in the future. Learning objectives • Describe UNHCR’s statelessness mandate and the four areas of its response to statelessness: identification, protection, prevention and reduction. • Discuss examples of ways in which different actors have been involved in responding to statelessness. • Describe the role that is or should be played by different actors in tackling statelessness. Readings and information sources Key readings UNHCR Action to Address Statelessness: A Strategy Note, March 2010, paras. 25-40 on * UNHCR, “Prevention – addressing causes of statelessness”. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b9e0c3d2.html Executive Committee, Conclusion No. 106: Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of * UNHCR Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons, Geneva, 6 October 2006. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/453497302.html A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 43