EVALUATION OF UNHCR-LED INITIATIVES TO END STATELESSNESS – FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I 82. In instances where cases of statelessness have been prevented or resolved there are substantial benefits. UNHCR and partner key informants at country-level stressed the importance that gaining nationality and official identification documentation can have for persons of concern, including the ability to access health care, housing, education, social services, and formal employment opportunities. Obtaining a birth certificate, and therefore a clear statement of age, was cited as enabling access to education in the Philippines57 and in Cote d’Ivoire, where external key informants also noted that birth certificates facilitated employment and freedom of movement. Documents and literature also stress the value of access to civil and political rights such as voting and freedom to travel, as also noted by formerly stateless persons in Kenya58. Perhaps more importantly, citizenship and official recognition can increase the sense of belonging and dignity and a reduced fear of persecution and discrimination, as noted by persons formerly at-risk of statelessness in Cote d’Ivoire. 83. Data collected in case studies through critical moments workshops with COs and interviews with staff, and verified through external interviews, documents and records provided evidence of the type of country-level achievements UNHCR has contributed to through its statelessness work, with examples shown in Table 5. The scale of officially reported stateless persons under UNHCR’s mandate in countries engaged for the evaluation varies considerably, including Albania (3,687), Colombia (11), Cote d’Ivoire (955,399), Kenya (18,500), Mauritania (0), the Philippines (383 59), Spain (4,246), Tajikistan (7,151), and Ukraine (35,642) as of 201960, though these figures do not necessarily reflect the total number of stateless persons present in the country, and do not consistently cover persons at-risk of statelessness, as discussed in Section 5.2. Additional information on UNHCR’s contributions, including detailed timelines of critical events for country cases, is provided in the case study summaries in Annex 4. 84. Many of the achievements identified in case studies represent intermediate outcomes, reflecting the longterm nature of work to prevent and resolve statelessness. Advances in data, knowledge and awareness, capacity, procedures, national laws, national action plans, coordinating mechanisms, HLS pledges, and convention accessions are all intended to inform and formalize the means by which a State will prevent and resolve statelessness. “It may seem like just getting a document, but it opens up access to all sorts of other services and rights.” - Interview with formerly stateless person in Spain “[Getting registered] opens up a lot of opportunities – access to health services and education, and government protection. You can’t enroll in elementary school without a birth certificate or get health insurance, therefore it makes a big difference.” - Interview with former UNHCR implementing partner in the Philippines “In 2018, UNHCR came to Gagnoa, asking the local radio station to help raise awareness. It was on the radio missions that I realized I was stateless. [After submitting documents] The response was swift. In one month, I received a phone call from the Ministry of Justice, but I was scared. With great emotion, tears flowed when I was told that the Minister had signed my certificate of nationality. I have missed many opportunities in life.” - Interview with formerly stateless person in Cote d’Ivoire “Our organization identified more than 700 stateless persons. 130 of them obtained IDs because of our help. Many of these people are elderly. They obtained the right to enjoy social aid from the government, a source of income, and the change I most enjoy is children who weren’t able to attend school can enjoy an education.” - Interview with UNHCR implementing partner NGO in Ukraine "It has been difficult for us to access services and we always feared discrimination. But when we get a birth certificate, we will feel more respected and be able to live life with dignity. I will feel valued as a citizen.” – Sama Bajau woman in the Philippines (article on UNHCR website) “The day I got my Kenyan identity card I came home and celebrated. I’m now a proper Kenyan. I can go anywhere and get assistance without any fear.” - Makonde woman in Kenya (Story on Relief Web) “With my identity card, I can go to school, live in harmony with other ethnicities and Ivorians who no longer reject us, but accept our citizenship. Psychologically, it’s very important to have a nationality and an identity.” - Woman in Cote d’Ivoire granted identity documentation after 2013 change in nationality legislation (from Thomson Reuters Foundation news story) UNHCR, “Ensuring the rights of nomadic seafarers”, September 2019 available at: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/stories/2019/9/5d8881b84/ensuringrights-nomadic-seafarers.html UNHCR, “The Makonde: From Statelessness to Citizenship”, published on Relief Web, March 2017, available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/makonde-statelessness-citizenship 59 Including 374 people at-risk of statelessness and 9 officially recognized by the Government of the Philippines as stateless persons. 60 UNHCR, “Global Trends – Forced Displacement in 2019” 57 58 24 UNHCR / May, 2021