Council of Minorities CONCLUDING Concluding Remarks Statelessness is far-reaching and pervasive, adversely impacting all aspects of life for individuals and communities across the region. In conducting research for this report, we found statelessness to be not only a product of, but also a catalyst for discrimination. Our hope is that this encyclopedia will highlight and bring attention to the growing issue of statelessness in the Asia-Pacific region and serve as a roadmap for stakeholders working in the field. The aim of this report is to combine existing data and research on statelessness across the AsiaPacific into a comprehensive overview of the ongoing situation of statelessness in the region. The lack of research and data on statelessness in the region, as such, is a clear limitation to knowledge production. Through our consultations, the scarcity of funding and resources was found to be a pervasive barrier to organizations working on statelessness. This report endeavors to invite further research and financial investment to support organizations working for individuals and communities experiencing statelessness. The rising disconnect between the existence of known stateless populations and figures of zero (or near zero) officially reported stateless persons needs to be ended by investing in better quantitative research. In addition, further qualitative research on the experiences of stateless persons would substantially improve public understanding of how statelessness is experienced across the region. Such research is crucial in highlighting the ways in which statelessness significantly impact peoples’ lives and limit their access to fundamental rights. This first edition of the Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific (SEAP) represents the foundational research on which future editions will be built. With the second edition of the SEAP, we will broaden the scope and depth of research, and the geographical coverage of the report will expand to include Central Asia. We aim to produce individual fact-sheets for each country in the Asia-Pacific region and provide a deeper examination of naturalized and dual citizenship. 64 65 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC REPORT 2023