the elimination of statelessness was established in
August. In September, multi-stakeholder meetings
took place in Madagascar and Zambia to develop
National Action Plans. Both draft action plans are
pending endorsement by the respective Cabinets.
and UNHCR staff. On 15 and 16 August, the 8th
Regional Course on Statelessness was held in
San José, Costa Rica, which was attended by 58
government officials from 26 different entities and
two participants from civil society.
A number of statelessness courses were organized
to strengthen awareness of international standards
among government officials and other stakeholders,
while also providing a platform for participants to
share experiences and explore solutions. From 8 to
12 July, the University of Cape Town, in partnership
with UNHCR, organized its first course on nationality
and statelessness for government actors and civil
society practitioners. The course was attended by
38 participants from 11 countries in Southern Africa
and two countries in West Africa. From 30 July to 3
August, the annual Statelessness Summer Course
of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion took
place at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. The
course drew participants from all over the world,
including government officials, NGO representatives
On 18 July, UNHCR and the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) held a side-event at the High-Level
Political Forum for Sustainable Development in
New York on “Ending Statelessness: The Critical
Role of Law Reform”. The event was attended
by Parliamentarians from all over the world.
Presentations were made by Ágnes Vadai, Member
of Parliament from Hungary and President of the
IPU Committee to Promote Respect for International
Humanitarian Law; Maha Mamo, statelessness
activist; Catherine Harrington, Campaign Manager
of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights;
and Gideon Ochanda, Member of Parliament from
Kenya and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus
on Sustainable Development and Business of Kenya.
Participants at the first course on nationality and statelessnesss of the University of Cape Town. © UNHCR
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