Including statelessness in development plans and initiatives Eradicating statelessness is critical to the fundamental premise of the Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”. Besides contributing to achieving the SDGs, positioning statelessness as a development issue is also crucial to galvanizing broader support for comprehensively addressing statelessness. This includes embedding statelessness-related goals and actions within national development plans as well as other development frameworks.16 This is an important starting point but should also result in statelessness being prioritized in national policy agendas and budgets and thereby ensure that efforts to end statelessness are comprehensive, coordinated and effectively implemented. Regionally and globally, it is essential to incorporate statelessness into partnerships and collaborations with development agencies in order to ensure that development programs and initiatives contribute to preventing and resolving statelessness. Better data on statelessness – the International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics Statistics (IROSS)17, endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission in 2023, can support efforts to improve data on statelessness. They offer national statistical offices a comprehensive road map for systematically incorporating statelessness into national censuses, surveys and administrative data systems. This, in turn, leads to more informed policy decisions and more effective strategies to address the issue and strengthen the quantity and quality of global data on statelessness. Engaging in global and regional statelessness-related initiatives Engagement in global and regional initiatives is an important enabler in ending statelessness. The Global Refugee Forum18, in particular, offers a unique platform for States and other stakeholders to announce new pledges and advance the implementation of existing ones, reinforcing accountability and promoting progress at all levels. A number of regional initiatives implemented and advanced by regional intergovernmental organizations focus on strengthening civil registration services and19 developing model laws,20 regional action plans21 and regional standards.22 These initiatives are also very effective in advocating for and supporting the implementation of the 11 Actions. Action 10 highlights the importance of ensuring that quality data on statelessness is available. The International Recommendations on Statelessness 16 “United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework Guidance”: https://unsdg.un.org/resources/united-nations-sustainable-development-cooperation-framework-guidance 17 “The international recommendations on statelessness statistics (IROSS)”: https://egrisstats.org/recommendations/international-recommendations-on-statelessness-statistics-iross/. 18 Global Refugee Forum, see https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/overview/global-compact-refugees/global-refugee-forum. 19 See Asian and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade (2015–2024), https://crvs.unescap.org/crvs-decade. 20 A regional model law on statelessness determination, the protection of stateless persons and naturalization was prepared with support by UNHCR and endorsed by the technical level experts of the Economic Community of West African States and the Economic Community of Central African States: ECOWAS, ECCAS, UNHCR, “Regional model law on the determination of statelessness, the protection of stateless persons and the facilitation of their naturalization”, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), May 2023, https://www.refworld.org/ legal/modellaw/unhcr/2023/en/124310. 21 See, for example, Abidjan Declaration and Action Plan on the Eradication of Statelessness; Banjul Plan of Action on Eradicating Statelessness; Brazil Declaration and Plan of Action; Arab Declaration on Belonging and Legal Identity. 22 UNHCR lauds African Union move to address statelessness across the continent, see: https://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/unhcr-lauds-african-union-move-address-statelessness-across-continent. 23 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Statelessness and climate change factsheet”, 29 October 2021, https://www.refworld. org/reference/tools/unhcr/2021/en/123945 GLOBAL ACTION PLAN TO END STATELESSNESS 2.0 11