Keynote speech: Patrick Eba, UNHCR Deputy Director from Division of International Protection, HQ - Experts Conference on Eradication of Statelessness and Access to Legal Identity Documentation in the Great Lakes Region, 25 July 2023 - Rwanda

Introduction

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Ambassador Yasir Mohammed, Deputy Executive Secretary and Senior Programs Manager of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

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Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa - Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya;

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Excellencies; members of the diplomatic corps; Colleagues; ladies and gentlemen;

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On behalf of UNHCR, I am honored to address this Experts Conference on Eradication of Statelessness and Access to Legal Identity Documentation in the Great Lakes Region as we approach three symbolic milestones.

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Firstly, we are approaching the end of the 10-year #IBelong campaign, which was launched in 2014.

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Secondly, we are now 4 months before the second Global Refugee Forum which is a key platform for states to renew their commit against statelessness through transformative and actionable pledges.

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Thirdly, next year, we will mark 70 years since the adoption of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in September 1954.

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There is no better moment to come together ahead of these milestones to reflect on progress, challenges and chart a way forward in our common efforts to eradicate statelessness.

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I would like to thank the Government of Kenya for hosting this three-day Experts Conference on the Eradication of Statelessness in the Great Lakes region. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, delegations from each I.C.G.L.R Member State, experts, civil society groups, organizations in the region, and stateless and former stateless people for their contributions to this flagship regional event.

Stateless populations globally and in the Great Lakes region

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Statelessness is a global challenge. It affects millions of people around the world. In 2022, UNHCR reported over 4.4 million people as being stateless or of undetermined nationality in 95 countries. In the Great Lakes region, only 5 out of 12 countries report statelessness statistics totaling over 105,000 stateless persons and people with undetermined nationality. Yet the actual number of stateless persons globally and in the region is likely significantly higher. This reported number is just a tip of the iceberg in the region as more efforts to identify stateless people are needed.

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As defined in the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, a stateless person is someone who is not recognized as a national by any country in the world. To understand statelessness and its impact on people’s lives, on communities and nations, one should go beyond the legal definition. People without a recognized nationality are vulnerable to countless injustices and deprivations of their basic rights. They are made invisible by law. Stateless persons face serious challenges in access to education, healthcare, property. On all accounts, they are left behind.

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Also of concern are populations of undetermined nationality and others at risk of statelessness, who face many of the same issues as stateless persons.

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In the Great Lakes region, many groups affected by statelessness can be identified. These include historical migrants and their descendants, long-term refugees and their offspring born in exile, returning refugees who have limited links to their “country of origin”, cross-border populations including nomadic groups, and vulnerable children who are not recognized as nationals.