The 1954 Convention relating to the status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are key international treaties designed to ensure that every person has a nationality and that stateless people can enjoy a basic set of human rights. The 1954 Convention establishes minimum standards of treatment for stateless people in respect of a various rights e.g. the right to education, employment and housing. It also guarantees stateless people a right to identity and travel documents and to administrative assistance. The 1961 Convention establishes an international framework to ensure the right of every person to a nationality. It requires that States establish safeguards in their nationality laws to prevent statelessness at birth and later in life. Eight SADC States have acceded to the 1954 Convention and only four SADC States have acceded to the 1961 Convention. The group noted that low accession in Southern Africa is attributed to misconceptions about the nature of obligations imposed on States by the treaties and the notion that nationality issues are a matter of state sovereignty. The group noted that NGOs could contribute to accession through various initiatives including; strategic litigation, engaging government to understand reasons why States are reluctant to accede to the Conventions, drafting position papers and recommendation for legislative reform, undertaking research to highlight statelessness as a development issue rather than a humanitarian issue and to highlight the economic incentives associated with the eradication of statelessness. Further advocacy around State pledges to accede to the conventions may also be impactful. How NGOs can contribute to legal aid and advocacy (moderated by Tshegofatso Mothapo, LHR) Statelessness is a growing and yet largely unaddressed phenomenon. This is partially owing to a limited understanding of the existence and nature of the problem. The group noted that a full understanding of statelessness is sometimes impeded by myths and misconceptions e.g. ‘statelessness only affects migrants’ or ‘statelessness happens by fault’. The group further noted that legal aid is critical in the identification and protection of stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness but there is limited access to legal aid in the region. Furthermore, NGOs and grassroots organizations often struggle with funding, resources and capacity. The group concluded that NGOs can contribute to legal aid and advocacy through; building networks at a domestic and regional level, partnering with private sector lawyers for pro bono work, sharing resources and exchanging best practices and conducting capacity building workshops. How NGOs can contribute to strengthening birth registration (moderated by Leya Ouko, UNHCR) 9