HOW AND WHY THE CESF BEGAN OCT 2020 (March – June 2020) At around the time that the WHO first declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic, ISI began receiving distress calls from partners – community groups, movements and networks led by stateless people – who were experiencing first hand, the life-threatening cost of excluding stateless people. • • • The Citizenship Affected Persons Network (CAPN) in Nepal, reached out when 40 stateless families were facing a real risk of starvation due to being excluded from state food aid. Groups in Malaysia raised concerns about immigration raids targeting stateless people, and COVID-19 outbreaks in immigration detention centres, where large numbers of stateless people were being indefinitely held. Community groups in Kenya and Bangladesh sent SOS messages when their funding was slashed. Donors were prioritising COVID-19 emergency responses, and the reallocation of funds was putting the very existence of small, financially insecure, but crucially important community groups at risk. • NOV 2020 JAN MAY 2021 JUNE 2021 The ISI team felt duty-bound to respond. It set up a dedicated COVID-19 response to strategically leverage ISI’s position (as the sole NGO working on the right to nationality globally), networks (communities, activists, NGOs and academia) and expertise (research, advocacy, training and technical knowledge etc.), to lead and coordinate a joined-up civil society response to the crisis. In particular, ISI collected data, strengthened capacity and conducted advocacy to: 1. 2. 3. Ensure government, UN, NGOs and other stakeholders are better equipped to identify, protect and reach all stateless people in their COVID-19 responses, including healthcare and relief programming. Call out and demand accountability when stateless people are targeted and pushed further to the periphery – including through hate speech, arbitrary detention and discriminatory denial of healthcare and other services. Stand in solidarity with stateless people, ensure their voices are heard and strengthen connections among statelessness actors to enhance joined-up action. • • Awards granted to partners in India, North Macedonia and Rohingya community. • Awards - Malaysia, Nepal and Rohingya community. Midterm Review of CESF conducted by CESF Committee. All Consortium members receive small ‘Advocacy Awards’. • • • • JULY DEC 2021 MAY 2022 • • • • • Gathering information from partners and through research and maintaining a spotlight on the COVID-19 impact on the stateless through op-eds, Monthly Bulletins, a Briefing Note and Rapid Response Report. Coordinating global civil society advocacy by convening meetings with regional and global actors, developing a joint civil society statement and hosting a dedicated webinar. Consulting with partners on taking concrete action to strategically address the challenges faced by stateless communities. Together We Can Webinar held. Videos showcasing Consortium projects produced. Awards granted to partners in Bangladesh and Montenegro. • • Initial steps included: • • • Together We Can: The COVID-19 Impact on Stateless People & A Roadmap for Change launched. Building Back Better joint civil society statement issued. Award granted to partner in North Macedonia. Targeted advocacy with WHO, UNHCR, OHCHR, Gavi, various states and other key stakeholders Awards granted to partners in Kuwait, Lebanon, USA, Malaysia, Montenegro, Asia-Pacific, Pakistan and Rohingya group. CESF Wrap up activities begin. Consortium members receive small ‘Wrap-Up’ Awards. External evaluators recruited. OCT 2022 • CESF Independent Evaluation Report submitted by external evaluators. DEC 2022 • • Together We Did Report compiled CESF formally brought to a close. In May 2022, ISI published a Briefing Note - Stateless in a Global Pandemic. Drawing on responses to a Global Appeal for information, it identified seven key areas of concern: 1. Health & wellbeing 2. Survival & livelihoods 3. Hate speech & xenophobia 4. Border closures & movement restrictions 5. Insecurity & detention 6. New risks of statelessness 7. Sustaining engagement on statelessness. It became evident that information gathering, advocacy and awareness raising alone was insufficient. The desperate need was funding for local groups to serve their communities amidst the crisis, while preserving their own institutions, and for solidarity, coming together, drawing strength, inspiration and learnings from each other. The idea of an Emergency Response Fund to support a community of statelessness actors at the frontline of the crisis emerged. Although a new endeavour and approach for the organisation, ISI felt poised and ready to take on the challenge of leading this initiative in the face of such immense need. ISI undertook consultations with donors, partners, stateless communities and those with experience in emergency response, or in the setting up and running of consolidated funds. Through these conversations, ISI puzzled out how to construct and implement a Fund, received pledges of support from donors and gained new allies who were willing to share their expertise to make this work. After an intense two months of needs assessment, consulting, conceptualising, fundraising, setting up the structure and modalities and targeted outreach, the CESF was launched in June 2020. 8