The Impact of Climate Change on Statelessness in the Southern African Region the European Union (EU) in 2015. The existence of these initiatives is evidence of the seriousness of the problem and the determination to combat statelessness globally. At a continental level, treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950,15 the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) of 1969,16 the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) of 198117 and the Arab Charter on Human Rights of 1994 were all adopted to promote and protect human rights. The ACHR, for example, lists five elements on how the right to a nationality should be recognised: the acknowledgement of a general right to a nationality; a provision that requires the state to grant nationality to a child born on its territory by virtue of jus soli18 who would otherwise be stateless; the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality; the prohibition of discriminatory practices in nationality matters; and allowing the right to change one’s nationality.19 The provisions under the ACHR prohibit all forms of discriminatory practices and recognise nationality as an essential right. A combination of the above-stated elements makes Article 20 of the ACHR unique and comprehensive in ensuring the protection of an individual’s right to a nationality. Article 1 of the Draft Protocol to the ACHPR refers to the right to a nationality and the eradication of statelessness in Africa.20 The Draft Protocol to the ACHPR on the Right to Nationality in Africa of 2015 and the Draft Protocol to the ACHPR of 2017 on the specific aspects of the right to a nationality and the eradication of statelessness in Africa, among other things, have expanded the definition of stateless persons to include persons who are unable to establish a nationality. This accounts for the specific situations of statelessness that arise in Africa such as the cases of undocumented, unaccompanied, and separated refugee children on the continent. At the international level, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) #IBelong Campaign and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Global Action Plan 2014 to 2024 all aim to end statelessness and the UNHCR has the mandate to assist stateless refugees.21 The Declaration of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on Statelessness,22 which was carried out in line with the UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024 (hereafter, the #IBelong Campaign), for example, obliges the Member States to end statelessness in the Great Lakes region of Africa. This can be viewed as a collective responsibility that hopes to yield positive results. The Member States recalled that the right to nationality is fundamental and highlighted how vast the problem of It was opened for signature in Rome on 04 November 1950 and came into force on 03 September 1953. It was adopted at the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Human Rights, San José, Costa Rica, 22 November 1969. 17 Referred to as the Banjul Charter, it was adopted on 27 June 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982) and entered into force on 21 October 1986. 18 It allows a person to become a national as long as they were born on the territory of a given state. 19 ACHR op cit note 16 Art 20. 20 ACHPR op cit note 17 Draft Protocol of September 2015. 21 Since the UNHCR was established on 1 January 1951. 22 The Declaration of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on Statelessness 27–28 June 2017. 23 Ibid. 15 16 97