approval at the forthcoming ECOWAS statutory meetings, which would make it legally binding on all the
Member States.
To date, twelve of the fifteen ECOWAS Member States have ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the
Status of Stateless Persons, and eleven are party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness. The Governments of Cape Verde, Ghana and Togo have committed to adhere to those
conventions.
ECOWAS Member States are aligning themselves with the campaign to end statelessness in 10 years,
which was launched by UNHCR in 2014. UNHCR provided technical support to the organisation of this
regional ministerial conference for the validation and adoption of the plan of action to end statelessness
in West Africa.
For more information on the Abidjan Declaration and its impact:
http://kora.unhcr.org/ecowas-members-adopt-declaration-eradication-statelessness-west-africa/
http://kora.unhcr.org/conference-statelessness-west-africa-kick-abidjan/
http://unhcr.org/ecowas2015/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqkdQmd62dM
For more information, please contact:
Emmanuelle Mitte, UNHCR Senior Regional Protection Officer (Statelessness): mitte@unhcr.org,
+ 221 77 740 14 96
Romain Desclous, UNHCR Senior Regional Communication & Public Information Officer:
desclous@unhcr.org, + 221 77 639 6385
Simplice Kpandji, UNHCR Regional Reporting Officer: kpandji@unhcr.org, +221 77 333 98 83
Liberor Doscof Aho, ECOWAS Commission Acting. Director of Communication: laho@ecowas.int, +234
706 4189 249
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UNHCRWAStateless)