The United Nations has launched a global campaign which aims to end the plight of statelessness within ten years.
People born without nationality are often deprived of education and medical care, and they may not be allowed to travel.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Children born in refugee camps often have no entitlement to the nationality of the new country they are born in," it says, "and no chance of returning to the country of their parents to claim nationality there."
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is marking the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons with a series of events designed to "highlight the human face of statelessness" and persuade countries to grant nationality to all their stateless people.
What is the 1954 Convention?
This was the UN's first attempt at solving the problem of statelessness. It is a list of recommendations first prepared by the UN Economic and Social Council after the Second World War, and according to a report published by the UNHCR in 2003, it remains "the primary international instrument adopted to date to regulate and improve the legal status of stateless persons and to ensure to them fundamental rights and freedoms without discrimination".
What will the UNHCR do to end statelessness now?
The UNHCR said it will establish a "series of dialogues with stateless people to better understand the impact of statelessness" and then "bring together policymakers, international organizations, NGOs and academics to discuss new research and policy perspectives to tackle some of the most pressing statelessness situations around the world".
The BBC reports that refugees' rights groups say that too little progress has been made on the issue.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
