Implementing the 1954 Convention and working towards accession to the 1961 Convention The ratification of the 1954 Convention was but the first step in the Philippine Government’s efforts to address statelessness in a comprehensive manner.4 In July 2011, UNHCR organized a Refugee Status and Statelessness Determination Workshop to help the Government implement its new obligations under the 1954 Convention. The workshop discussed the establishment of a statelessness determination procedure and involved new members of the Department of Justice Refugee Processing Unit and representatives from policy and operational units of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Immigration and the Committee Secretariat of the House of Representatives. In October 2011 UNHCR facilitated an observation mission by a small Philippine delegation to Hungary and Spain to learn from these countries’ experiences in implementing the 1954 Convention, including frameworks for statelessness determination. The Department of Justice then developed a draft circular proposing elements of a statelessness determination procedure and sought UNHCR’s technical assistance on the draft to ensure its compliance with the 1954 Convention and related UNHCR guidelines. On 18 October 2012 the Philippines adopted a statelessness determination procedure,5 the first of its kind in Asia. The Government plans to draft a Procedural Standards Manual to aid implementation of the new procedure. In addition to implementing its obligations under the 1954 Convention, the Government has initiated the process of acceding to the 1961 Statelessness Convention. A third inter-agency round table convened by UNHCR and the Government in November 2011 discussed a study that examined the compatibility of the 1961 Statelessness Convention with the Philippines’ legal framework. The Government is committed to fulfilling its pledge to accede to the 1961 Convention and will work to harmonize the statelessness-prevention safeguards of the 1961 Convention with the rules on nationality contained in legislation and in the Constitution. 4 At the December 2011 Ministerial Meeting, the Philippines submitted pledges to develop the policy and operational framework to address statelessness to meet its obligations under the 1954 Convention, initiate the process of accession to the 1961 Statelessness Convention, and continue a study of statelessness in the Philippines, among other protection-related pledges. The full text of the Philippines’ pledge is included in UNHCR, Pledges 2011: Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons (Geneva, Palais des Nations, 7-8 December 2011), available at: http://www.unhcr.org/4ff55a319.html 5 Please see Department Circular No. 058 - Establishing the Refugees and Stateless Status Determination Procedure [Philippines], 18 October 2012, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/5086932e2.html 5 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS