Recommendations Make the eradication of statelessness a development priority The fundamental principle of the SDGs to “leave no one behind” demands the eradication of statelessness. Stateless people are perhaps the group most likely to be left behind. Statelessness hampers national and global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Identification and protection of stateless persons and the prevention and reduction of statelessness should therefore form part of national development strategies. • The objective to prevent and eradicate statelessness should be included in development plans and policy frameworks adopted by national institutions and international development actors. These include: national development plans and SDG action plans, the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks, and the World Bank Country Partnership Frameworks. • The collection of data about the situation of stateless persons and those whose nationality is undocumented should be considered during the entire project cycle. Questions on statelessness as a risk factor for exclusion, and recommendations on how these risks can be mitigated should be integrated into initial impact assessments and final evaluations of projects. Among international agencies, this would include the UN Common Country Analysis and World Bank country diagnostic assessments. • The design of development programmes supporting health care, education and poverty reduction should consider the potential exclusion of stateless persons, and take steps to avoid this outcome, including by addressing lack of registration in ID systems which might be the gateway to these services. • Development agencies should develop the expertise to understand the causes, impacts, and solutions of statelessness that go beyond a general focus on the inclusion of marginalised groups within service delivery. Promote legal reforms to prevent and reduce statelessness Statelessness is a predicament created by official laws and procedures, so eradicating it will require legal and procedural reforms. • Development programming should support steps towards the removal of discriminatory provisions from nationality laws, as well as from civil registration and family laws. • Legal reform should be accompanied by analysis and reform of procedures that could discriminate indirectly by imposing administrative requirements for the recognition or acquisition of nationality that are impossible to fulfil for members of certain groups. • The most important legal provision for the prevention of statelessness is that those born or found in the territory who cannot acquire another nationality should be able, without discrimination on any grounds, to acquire the nationality of the State of birth. Ensure that stateless persons can access rights and services Specific attention needs to be paid to assess and address the unique barriers that stateless persons face in accessing rights and services. Whatever form of identification is required to access rights and services, those whose status as nationals is doubted are likely to be excluded. • Development initiatives should always promote universal access to social protection and basic public services, including for stateless persons. • Specific measures will be needed to help stateless persons and persons of undetermined nationality to overcome barriers to access public services, by waiving identity document requirements and/or by referral mechanisms for determination of nationality if a person seeks to access services but does not have the required documents. 64