Background to the High-Level Segment on Statelessness Background to the High-Level Segment on Statelessness UNHCR is mandated by the General Assembly to identify and protect stateless persons, and to prevent and reduce statelessness.1 UNHCR fulfils its mandate by working with governments, other UN agencies and civil society. A stateless person is a person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its law. The causes of statelessness are numerous, including discrimination (e.g., on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion), conflicts between and gaps in nationality laws, lack of birth registration and State succession. Risks of statelessness may also arise in situations of displacement. Statelessness often puts education, employment, healthcare, housing and other important rights out of reach for those it affects. Stateless persons are also typically unable to participate in political processes. They may even be subject to arrest and arbitrary detention in the countries they live in. 1 4 On 4 November 2014, UNHCR launched the ambitious #IBelong Campaign. This followed momentum generated through the 2011 Ministerial Event facilitated by UNHCR to mark the 60th and 50th anniversaries of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention) respectively. As a result of this Ministerial Event and the pledges made there, awareness of the problem grew significantly in all regions. To achieve the goals of the #IBelong Campaign, the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014-2024 (Global Action Plan) establishes a guiding framework comprising ten actions to be undertaken by States, with the support of UNHCR and other stakeholders. The Global Action Plan is designed to address existing situations of statelessness and prevent new cases of statelessness from occurring. UNGA Resolutions 50/152, 61/137, 67/149. U N H C R > H I G H - L E V E L S E G M E N T O N S T A T E L E S S N E S S : R E S U LT S A N D H I G H L I G H T S