Opening statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Some of you, last year, were present at an ExCom side event at which a young woman who had grown up stateless became the citizen of a country for the first time. It was a deeply emotional experience for everyone present – and that moment, more than any speech or list of pledges, captured what it means to finally belong, after years spent living on the margins. She and a number of formerly stateless people are present here today, and I encourage you to talk to them and understand what citizenship has meant to them. Their stories are what will inspire us as we move ahead. There have been important achievements in the first half of the Campaign – tackling gender discrimination in nationality laws, introducing laws to avoid childhood statelessness, and developing procedures to find solutions for people who would otherwise be stateless. Certain protracted situations were finally resolved. Fifteen States acceded to one or both of the Statelessness Conventions. Kyrgyzstan became the first State to formally announce that all known cases of statelessness on its territory had been resolved – an achievement that should inspire others. I look forward to honoring a Kyrgyz champion of this campaign, Azizbek Ashurov, at the Nansen Award ceremony this evening. 8 I also wish to acknowledge the work of UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank, and civil society and academic networks – and especially the Geneva-based “Friends” of the campaign, who have been persistent in their advocacy and support. The regional preparatory meetings have been characterized by energy and commitment. I am pleased to share that we have received 171 pledges ahead of today’s event, which has also galvanized other initiatives that may become concrete pledges later. This is particularly commendable at a time when we are asking a lot of you. At UNHCR, we will also step up our efforts even more to achieve the ambitious collective goal of ending statelessness once and for all. 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