UN Experts Urge Action as Global Alliance to End Statelessness Launches

The experts call for a collective effort to join the Global Alliance to End Statelessness to protect and provide solutions for refugees and stateless individuals globally.

As the Global Alliance to End Statelessness prepares for its launch, the Platform of Independent Experts on Refugee Rights (PIERR) has issued a powerful statement highlighting the urgent need to address the global crisis of statelessness. An estimated 4.4 million people remain stateless or of undetermined nationality, facing significant barriers to their rights to education, employment, and healthcare.

Since the inception of UNHCR's #IBelong campaign in 2014, notable strides have been made, including the confirmation of nationality for over 500,000 stateless individuals and recent regional initiatives, such as the African Union's new Protocol addressing nationality rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' Resolution on statelessness. Despite this progress, experts warn that much more needs to be done.

Among the stateless population, 1.3 million individuals are forcibly displaced, often facing compounded vulnerabilities. Stateless refugees and asylum-seekers struggle with a lack of documentation, complicating their efforts to secure protection and hindering family reunification efforts. Women, in particular, face heightened risks due to discriminatory nationality laws, which can perpetuate cycles of statelessness for their children.

The PIERR urges States to commit to international human rights standards, including acceding to the 1954 Convention on Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Recommendations include establishing statelessness determination procedures, facilitating the naturalization of stateless persons, and ensuring the birth registration of refugee children.

The experts call for a collective effort to join the Global Alliance to End Statelessness to protect and provide solutions for refugees and stateless individuals globally.