Enhancing coordination on statelessness In May UNHCR hosted the 2022 Global Statelessness Retreat. The Retreat brought together UNHCR, members of civil society, UN Agencies and stateless-led organizations to assess initiatives to address statelessness, to identify priorities and areas in need of increased attention for the remaining years of the #IBelong Campaign, and to discuss the post-2024 agenda and the building of a multi-stakeholder global alliance to take the work forward after 2024. The Global Statelessness Retreat was preceded by preparatory regional meetings, bringing together more than 200 stakeholders globally. Africa In Kenya, during a regional meeting organized by UNHCR, 15 civil society organizations from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan and Rwanda, launched the Eastern Africa Nationality Network. The first civil society network on statelessness in the region, it brings together human rights organizations, legal aid service providers and minority rights organizations to work together towards ending statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. The members will collaborate towards regional advocacy efforts, awareness raising and capacity building activities and empowering stateless communities. In Sudan, the Abyei Committee, joined by the Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, community leaders and civil society, conducted a mission to North Kordofan to coordinate and prepare for a targeted documentation campaign for members of the Dinka Ngok community. The Abyei Committee was established in 2018 by the Sudanese government to find a durable solution and pathways to Sudanese nationality for the communities living in the Abyei area which is disputed by Sudan and South Sudan. Despite efforts by the community living in the North Kordofan region, they have been unable to access Sudanese nationality documentation. UNHCR > The Campaign to End Statelessness | April – June 2022 Update In Niger, UNHCR and the Ministry of Justice signed a partnership agreement to facilitate implementation of the National Action Plan to End Statelessness 2018 – 2024. The agreement covers a range of activities, including public awareness raising, strengthening birth registration systems through material support, and the revision of Niger’s nationality legislation. As part of the agreement, UNHCR will be providing financial and technical support to the government of Niger for the implementation of the activities. As part of the implementation of the partnership agreement, UNHCR and the Ministry of Justice organized an awareness-raising workshop on statelessness for representatives from the judiciary, community leaders and civil society organizations in Niger. Topics included the international legal framework on statelessness and nationality, the causes and consequences of statelessness and the need for the prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. In Madagascar, UNHCR hosted a virtual workshop with Focus Development Association (FDA), a partner organization, to redefine the overall strategy to address statelessness. The workshop participants identified concrete actions to redouble efforts to end statelessness, including the finalization of the National Action Plan, the adoption of the country report on statelessness, further legal reform, and legal assistance to stateless persons. The Ministry of Home Affairs of the Kingdom of Eswatini convened a roundtable to assess progress on the nationwide civil registration and documentation exercise, which started in February 2022. As of the end of April, 3,356 civil and vital events have been registered and relevant documentation issued, including birth and marriage certificates and national ID cards. Despite these successes, several challenges were identified regarding the implementation of the exercise, including the lack of resources. 5