Ending statelessness
Ending statelessness
UNHCR is working to end statelessness, while also protecting people who are currently stateless.
Asha proudly displays her daughter's birth certificate. This vital document establishes her daughter's Kenyan nationality, protecting her from being at risk of statelessness.
Unable to prove their citizenship, stateless people may face a lifetime of obstacles trying to access basic rights and services. They often are not allowed to go to school, see a doctor, work legally, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married. This creates and perpetuates generational cycles of poverty.
At the end of 2023, UNHCR’s statistical reporting counted 4.4 million stateless people. However, as many stateless people live undocumented on the fringes of society and no data is available for a considerable number of countries, the actual figure is believed to be much higher.
At UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, we are determined to end statelessness. We work with governments to secure nationality for people who are currently stateless and prevent future cases of statelessness by advocating for changes in laws and policies.
Addressing statelessness will also help the international community achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing inequality (SDG10) and providing legal identity for all (SDG16.9).
"Those who have been born or left stateless face a devastating legal limbo. Their lives are marked by exclusion, deprivation and marginalization."
Understanding statelessness
How does nationality work?
People usually acquire a nationality automatically at birth, either through their parents or the country in which they were born. Sometimes, however, a person must apply to become a national of a country.
How does someone become stateless?
Statelessness occurs when an individual is not recognized as a citizen by any country, including the country in which they, and perhaps generations of their family, were born.
If nationality laws are not carefully drafted, some people can fall through the cracks and be left stateless. Additionally, some countries' laws may intentionally exclude people from citizenship, discriminating against minority communities based on race or religion, or preventing mothers from passing their nationality to their children.
How is UNHCR working to end statelessness?
While statelessness is often viewed as a complex political issue, it can be solved with sufficient political will. Governments determine who their nationals are, making them responsible for the legal and policy reforms needed to address and end statelessness. UNHCR works with and supports governments to identify, reduce and prevent statelessness, while also protecting people who are currently stateless.
To solve a problem, you need to understand it. UNHCR works with governments and partners to identify stateless communities and analyse the reasons that led to their statelessness. Providing evidence to governments about the extent and impact of statelessness is often the first step in convincing them to take action.
The easiest and most effective way to end statelessness is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. UNHCR provides legal advice to governments to ensure their nationality laws comply with international standards to prevent statelessness. UNHCR also works to improve civil registration processes, such as birth registration, to ensure people have the necessary documents to prove their nationality.
UNHCR works with governments to help them make changes to legislation and procedures, which are necessary to recognize stateless people as nationals. Additionally, we liaise with NGOs, civil society organizations, UN partners and the media to publicize these changes so stateless people know how to become nationals. UNHCR also helps partners to better advise stateless people on how to access nationality through legal advice and representation.
UNHCR provides guidance and technical assistance to governments to establish procedures to recognize stateless people and give them a legal status along with basic human rights. UNHCR does this by encouraging States to accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and by advocating for the respect of rights to which stateless people are entitled under other human rights instruments. At a grass-roots level, UNHCR works with NGOs, human rights groups and other UN partners to make sure that stateless people can obtain access to education, health care, employment and other basic rights.
UN Conventions on Statelessness
There are two United Nations Conventions on Statelessness. They seek to protect stateless people and eliminate statelessness globally. UNHCR encourages States to accede to the conventions. By doing so, countries commit to protect stateless people and reduce statelessness within their countries and to bring their laws and policies in line with the provisions of the conventions.
Rashid (back row, red t-shirt) is pictured with his children and grandchildren shortly after they were registered as Kenyan nationals ending generations of statelessness.
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When we were told we were not Kenyans, it really hurt. Where were we to go? We were born and raised here; we knew no other home.
Rashid, a member of the Pemba community in Kenya, endured a lifetime of challenges due to being stateless. He could not open a bank account, marry his wife legally, or travel freely. Many families in his community also struggled to enroll their children in school because they lacked the necessary national birth certificates.
In 2023 Kenya recognized the Pemba as citizens of the country. For Rashid and his family, this was a life-changing moment. “I am grateful that my children will now have national IDs – they will be able to seek opportunities that will enable them to sustain themselves financially and they can access any part of the country just like any other Kenyan,” he says.
The #IBelong Campaign and the Global Alliance to End Statelessness
In 2014, UNHCR launched the #IBelong Campaign. This generated renewed commitment from States to end statelessness, resulting in greater progress over the past ten years than in previous decades, including:
- Half a million people granted citizenship as several countries resolved long-standing situations of statelessness
- A steady increase in the number of accessions to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions
- Improved national laws to address statelessness in all regions.
However, despite ongoing efforts, statelessness remains a persistent issue. Fewer than half of UN member states are parties to both the statelessness conventions, and not all have fully incorporated these conventions into their domestic laws. As a result, children continue to be born without a nationality, and the world is significantly behind in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal of providing legal identity for all by 2030 (SDG 16.9).
In 2024, UNHCR will launch the Global Alliance to End Statelessness to build on the work of the #IBelong Campaign. The alliance will bring together member States, regional organizations, UN agencies, stateless-led organizations, civil society, faith leaders, academia and other partners who are committed to end statelessness. It aims to accelerate solutions through a multistakeholder approach which centres the experience of stateless people.
Documents and resources
The plan sets global objectives building on the momentum of the #IBelong campaign.
The plan establishes 11 priority actions to resolve and prevent statelessness, and better protect stateless populations.
