EVALUATION OF UNHCR-LED INITIATIVES TO END STATELESSNESS – FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I Figure 12 – Most frequently cited drivers of statelessness by region Lack of birth registration Lack of nationality documentation Other administrative barriers (e.g. cost of birth registration) Children born from stateless parents Forced displacement Migration Gaps in nationality laws between countries Gender discrimination in nationality laws Racial/ethnic discrimination in nationality laws State succession Other Religious discrimination in nationality laws Unsure / I am not familiar with the drivers of statelessness There are no drivers of statelessness in the country 0 Africa (N = 124) Americas (N = 29) 10 20 Asia and the Pacific (N = 71) 30 Europe (N = 66) 40 50 60 MENA (N = 73) 101. Protection Officers were also asked in the survey about the extent to which UNHCR-led initiatives in their country closely respond to the drivers of statelessness and are suitable for the country's specific contextual dynamics. Overall, 53 percent of respondents reported that activities correspond to drivers and are suitable to the context. Respondents from Europe reported the greatest appropriateness of initiatives for drivers and context, while those from MENA reported the least as shown in Figure 13 (N = 279 UNHCR staff). Figure 13 – Appropriateness of UNHCR-led initiatives vis-a-vis statelessness drivers and context 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Africa (N = 106) Americas (N = 23) Low correspondence / suitability Asia and the Pacific (N = 51) Europe (N = 44) Mo derate correspondence / suitability MENA (N = 55) Good correspondence / suitability 102. Internal and external key informants interviewed for country and regional case studies confirmed that in general there is a good correlation between the context in which UNHCR is working, including the drivers of statelessness and capacity of national actors to respond, and initiatives led and/or supported by UNHCR and partners. The work of civil society organizations, given their close proximity to stateless communities and those at risk of statelessness, was perceived to have strengthened UNHCR’s understanding of the problems and issues facing stateless populations inform the direction of UNHCR responses. A review of successive country and regional Operational Plans in case-study countries/regions also demonstrated a clear link between operational contexts, drivers of statelessness and planned initiatives. As explored in section 5.2, however, there is scope for country-level strategies to take influencing factors more systematically into account and include longer-term approaches to achieve statelessness objectives. UNHCR / May, 2021 31