JULY – DECEMBER 2025 In December 2025, Moldova’s new Law on Citizenship (No. 253/2025) entered into force, introducing stricter requirements for acquiring citizenship, including mandatory language and constitutional knowledge exams, enhanced screening, and revised procedures for acquisition and re-acquisition. The law also abolishes citizenship by recognition for certain long-term residents, including former Soviet citizens legally and habitually residing in Moldova as of 23 June 1990. As a result, access to citizenship has been significantly restricted, increasing the risk of statelessness and prolonged legal insecurity for some groups. These changes were adopted despite expert warnings about their potential negative impact on statelessness prevention. Moldova also introduced new fees for acquiring citizenship, significantly increasing costs for applicants, with no exemptions for statelessness persons, further restricting access to citizenship and heightening the risk of statelessness. In December 2025 in Poland, UNHCR’s partner Halina Niec Legal Aid Centre, organised the #Statelessnessweek, an information campaign raising awareness about the situation of stateless persons in Poland, clarifying common misconceptions, encouraging engagement and advocacy on policies to help reduce and prevent statelessness. In November 2025 in Ukraine, UNHCR and partners convened authorities, experts, civil society, and minority representatives to examine documentation gaps and nationality-related protection risks affecting national minorities during the war. The discussion highlighted barriers to personal documentation and risks of statelessness, resulting in targeted advocacy messages to authorities. Addressing these risks is also key in the context of Ukraine’s EU accession process. Global and regional updates In September 2025, the Latin American and Caribbean Council for Civil Registration, Identity and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV) led the regional campaign ‘Latin American and Caribbean Civil Registration Week’ under the slogan ‘A region without invisible people: identity for all’, aimed at safeguarding the fundamental right to identity and preventing statelessness. UNHCR / DIPS Statelessness Section Implemented between 1 and 16 September in eleven countries - Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru - the initiative mobilized civil registry institutions to intensify mobile and field registration services in rural, remote and hard-to-reach areas with high levels of under-registration. Supported by UNHCR, OAS and UNICEF, the campaign responded to CLARCIEV’s commitments under the 2023 Global Refugee Forum and the Global Alliance to End Statelessness and resulted in the registration of 32,177 births. The initiative demonstrated the collective capacity of national civil registries to deliver coordinated, high-impact documentation services without additional resources, strengthening legal identity and access to rights for populations most at risk of exclusion. During the reporting period, UNHCR Regional Bureau for Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) provided support to Hawaiti - MENA Statelessness Network to ensure their representation in global initiatives. In October, the Global Alliance to End Statelessness marked its first anniversary during a side event of UNHCR’s Executive Committee meeting, titled “Growing Membership, Strengthening Resolve.” The event offered an opportunity to highlight notable progress and achievements by various countries, while reaffirming the importance of multistakeholder cooperation. In just over one year, the Alliance has developed into a dynamic platform of more than 180 members—including 28 States, 12 intergovernmental organizations, and a broad network of civil society and stateless‑led organizations—united in their commitment to ensuring that no one is left without a nationality. That same month, UNHCR released the report “Leaving No One Behind: Statelessness and the Sustainable Development Goals,” which underscores the urgent need to integrate statelessness into development initiatives. Ensuring the right to a nationality is widely recognized not only as a human rights imperative but also as a strategic investment in sustainable, inclusive growth, long‑term stability, and resilient societies, a perspective that the report helps to reinforce. In December, statelessness featured prominently at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review. A linked event showcased effective reforms and strategies aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Multistakeholder Pledge on Ending Statelessness and advancing equal nationality rights for all. A dedicated side event 11