The Inter-American Court’s evaluation of both the Juliana Deguis Case and Law 169-14 concluded that they violated the ACHR.72 Cartagena +30 and Statelessness The Cartagena Declaration is the landmark regional refugee law that broadened the definition of “refugee” in Latin America and proposed new approaches to the humanitarian needs of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) within a framework of mutual responsibility, and cooperation. The representatives of thirty governments of Latin America and the Caribbean73 met in Brasilia in December 2014 to update their commitments under the 1984 Cartagena Declaration. They adopted what is known as the Brazil Declaration and Plan of Action, including for the first time specific measures to address statelessness in the region. Chapter 6 of the Plan of Action specifically enumerates commitments and measures to address statelessness, upholding the importance of the right to nationality as a fundamental human right and establishing the goal of eradicating statelessness in Latin America and the Caribbean within ten years. 74 The activities within the Plan of Action include: • Promote the harmonization of internal legislation and practice on nationality with international standards. • Facilitate universal birth registration and the issuance of documentation. • Establish effective statelessness status determination procedures. • Adopt legal protection frameworks that guarantee the rights of stateless persons, in order to regulate issues such as their migratory status, identity, and travel documents. • Facilitate naturalization. • Confirm nationality by facilitating late birth registration, providing exemptions from fees and fines, and issuing appropriate documentation for this purpose. The Brazil Declaration and Plan of Action process provided a detailed and concrete regional commitment to uphold the right to nationality and identify, and reduce prevent statelessness in the region. It was an important step toward furthering regional awareness on the topic, demonstrating a willingness of governments to address the underlying issues that might lead to statelessness. It recognized that legislation alone cannot prevent statelessness, but that state practice is also highly important, and that there are gaps and obstacles that must be overcome. 34 REGIONAL CONTEXT