News
North Macedonia accedes to key statelessness treaty
North Macedonia acceded to the 1961 Statelessness Convention on Friday 3rd January, making it among the first countries to do so since the High-Level Segment on Statelessness held in Geneva in October 2019.
UNHCR welcomes Tajikistan’s new law tackling statelessness
A new law in Tajikistan allows foreign nationals and stateless people irregularly residing in the country to regularise their stay, by obtaining residence permits which will also enable them after three years to apply for Tajik citizenship.
Kazakhstan amends laws to ensure universal birth registration and prevent childhood statelessness
Joining global efforts to prevent statelessness, Kazakhstan has amended its Code on Marriage and Family so as to ensure that all children born in the country are registered at birth and issued birth certificates, regardless of the legal status of their parents.
Malta joins global efforts to address statelessness
Malta decides to join global efforts to end statelessness by 2024 after it acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons on 11 December 2019.
Watershed moment as countries step forward to tackle global statelessness
In a historic moment in the global fight against statelessness, more than 85 governments, civil society and international and regional organizations have this week pledged hundreds of new commitments to end statelessness, a major cause of human rights deprivations for millions of people worldwide
Kyrgyz human rights lawyer wins UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
A lawyer whose work has supported the efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic in becoming the first country in the world to end statelessness has been selected as the 2019 winner of the UN Refugee Agency’s Nansen Refugee Award.
After decades in the shadows, stateless activist says ‘finally I exist’
Actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett interviews statelessness activist Maha Mamo about her 30-year-push to belong.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees warns of risks to the fight against statelessness
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned today that recent advances in the battle to end statelessness were being imperiled by a rise in damaging forms of nationalism.
Colombia acts to ensure children born to Venezuelan parents are not left stateless
The Colombian Government has taken a major step in combatting statelessness by ensuring that children born in the country to Venezuelan parents are able to acquire Colombian nationality.
Resolving Statelessness in Thailand
More than 27,000 stateless people have acquired Thai nationality since the end of 2011 thanks to the concerted efforts of the government with the support of UNHCR and its NGO partner. Watch a video highlighting how Thailand has done so.
2 years commemorations of #IBelong Campaign
Global initiatives highlight the continuing importance of UNHCR’s efforts to eradicate statelessness
UNHCR hails accessions to Statelessness conventions in West Africa
Mali and Sierra Leone step up prevention from cradle to grave.