#IBelong Campaign to end statelessness
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A decade of action to end statelessness
Stateless people are not recognized as citizens by any country, even the country they were born in. Being stateless can lead to a lifetime – or even generations – of discrimination, societal marginalization, and economic disadvantages. Stateless people are often denied a birth certificate and aren’t able to go to school, see a doctor, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house, or even get married. Stateless people are often denied even the dignity of a death certificate.
The 10-year-long #IBelong Campaign sought to identify and protect stateless people, resolve existing situations of statelessness, and prevent anyone from becoming stateless in the future. It generated renewed commitment from States and the international community to end statelessness, resulting in more progress over the past ten years than in the previous decades combined.
“The #IBelong Campaign has been instrumental in bringing global attention to statelessness, influencing governments to act, and creating pathways to citizenship. The campaign has made significant strides, positively impacting countless lives – including mine – and paving the way for future generations.”
Achievements of the #IBelong Campaign
The #IBelong Campaign made significant strides in addressing statelessness, impacting countless lives for the better. This progress was achieved through the combined efforts of States, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, academic institutions, regional networks, and stateless-led organizations.
Between 2014 and 2024, 613,100 stateless people and persons with undetermined nationality gained nationality. Notably, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have resolved all known cases of statelessness. Kenya granted nationality to members of the Makonde, Shona, and Pemba minority groups. Viet Nam addressed statelessness among former Cambodian refugees, helping resolve a protracted situation.
During the #IBelong Campaign, UNHCR stepped up advocacy efforts and calls for States to accede to the 1954 and 1961 UN Statelessness Conventions. As a result, since 2014, there have been a total of 47 new accessions to both Conventions.
Governments strengthened their legal and policy frameworks to protect stateless persons in more than 20 countries (including Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Uruguay).
Fourteen States (Albania, Armenia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Estonia, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Philippines, and Tajikistan) enacted laws to grant nationality to children who would otherwise be stateless. In addition, three countries (Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone) advanced gender equality by granting women the right to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis as men, which helps prevent statelessness.
The number of countries reporting data on statelessness increased from 77 in 2014 to 101 in 2024, presenting a more comprehensive picture of statelessness globally. In 2023, the United Nations Statistical Commission adopted the International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS), helping to strengthen the collection, use, and analysis of data at national, regional, and global levels.
To learn more about the achievements of the #IBelong Campaign, download the campaign report.
#IBelong: Coalition on Every Child’s Right to a Nationality
Established in 2016 and jointly led by UNHCR and UNICEF, the Coalition on Every Child’s Right to a Nationality brought together actors to strengthen international cooperation and raise awareness about the often-overlooked issue of childhood statelessness. Though no longer active, the Coalition played a key role in promoting the right of every child to acquire a nationality by supporting action to prevent children from being born stateless, eliminate gender discrimination in nationality laws, improve birth registration, and encourage States to join the UN Statelessness Conventions. Its work laid an important foundation for ongoing efforts to end childhood statelessness and protect children’s rights globally.
Building on this legacy, the Thematic Working Group on Ending Childhood Statelessness (TWG) – established under the Global Alliance to End Statelessness – continues to drive forward international action to ensure that no child is left stateless. The TWG fosters collaboration among Alliance members to identify legal and practical gaps, promote law reform, and improve birth registration systems.
"When I got my ID, I knew my life was going to be okay. I have lost many things over the years without an ID. I felt that I could have had a different kind of life. But at least now, doors are open to me."
After a 10-year battle for citizenship, Tebogo – formerly stateless – can now marry his partner. With support from UNHCR partner Lawyers for Human Rights, a court ruling in 2023 recognized him as a South African citizen. Tebogo works as a gamekeeper in South Africa's Limpopo province.
"The #IBelong Campaign has been instrumental in bringing global attention to statelessness, influencing governments to act, and creating pathways to citizenship. The campaign has made significant strides, positively impacting countless lives – including mine – and paving the way for future generations."
Born stateless, Maha realized her lifelong dream of belonging by becoming a Brazilian citizen in 2018.
"Our efforts – alongside UNHCR and others – came to fruition in December 2022 when the Government of Kenya announced that it would begin recognizing the Pemba as citizens. Children could now study as far as university. We can now access health facilities, start businesses and open bank accounts to keep our savings."
Born stateless in Kenya’s Pemba community, Barke dedicated her career to fighting for citizenship rights. Her work helped lead to the Government’s 2022 recognition of the Pemba as Kenyan citizens.
"I was the Uzbek champion in kickboxing and there were moments when my coach wanted to send me for international championships abroad, but ... there would always be problems with the visa."
For many years, statelessness kept Mukhamadjon, a kickboxing champion, from competing internationally. Then, in April 2020, the Government of Uzbekistan adopted a new provision in its law that granted citizenship to registered stateless people who had been permanent residents in the country before 1995. Although Mukhamadjon’s competitive years are behind him, he takes pride in coaching a new generation and hopes to accompany them to tournaments in Asia and beyond, realizing his dream in a different way.
The Global Alliance to End Statelessness
Despite the achievements of the #IBelong Campaign, statelessness remains a persistent issue. By the end of the campaign, only about half of UN Member States were party to one or both of the Statelessness Conventions, and many had yet to fully incorporate the provisions into domestic laws. As a result, children continue to be born without nationality, leaving the world significantly off track in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal of providing legal identity for all by 2030 (SDG 16.9).
In 2024, UNHCR launched the Global Alliance to End Statelessness to build on the momentum of the #IBelong Campaign. Ending statelessness requires a “whole-of-society” approach. The Alliance brings together States, stateless-led organizations, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector to drive coordinated, collaborative action to end statelessness. It serves as a platform for learning, sharing knowledge, and fostering political commitment to uphold the rights of stateless people and secure permanent solutions.
The Global Alliance connects global advocacy with regional and national actions to accelerate and drive positive change, including through:
- A stronger focus on solutions, including the resolution of protracted situations of statelessness and prevention of new instances of statelessness
- Leveraging the opportunity of the Sustainable Development Goals to form new partnerships and achieve legal identity for all
- Recognizing the critical, transformative role of stateless communities and stateless-led organizations through closer collaboration, engagement and empowerment.
#IBelong milestones
During the 10 years of the #IBelong Campaign, important changes, milestones and progress demonstrated the global community's commitment to addressing and resolving statelessness.
Resources and documents from the #IBelong Campaign
Publications and campaign reports
Good practices papers
Other key documents
For more documents and guidance on statelessness, please visit Refworld, UNHCR's global library of legislation, case law and policy guidance.
