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Progress and current challenges in eliminating global statelessness were discussed during a public event at the UNHCR’s headquarters in Geneva today, marking the second anniversary of the global #IBelong campaign.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomes the efforts of the campaign to eliminate global statelessness and continues to be a voice for the inclusion of all people in its pilgrimage for justice and peace, said Stanley Noffsinger, director of the WCC Office of the General Secretariat.
The #IBelong Campaign was launched in 2014 with the ambition of wiping out statelessness by 2024. Significant progress has been made to eradicate statelessness around the world, but ongoing conflicts are putting those advances at risk, stated Filippo Grandi, UN high commissioner for refugees. He renewed the call for a concerted effort by the international community to put an end to statelessness, a human rights injustice that affects at least 10 million people globally.
“Invisible is the word most commonly used to describe what it is like to be without a nationality”, said Grandi. “UNHCR is profoundly committed to continue and intensify the campaign, raising awareness of the governments on the issue of statelessness, so that no one is left behind and we all can say after a few years – I belong”.
Advocating for the human rights of uprooted people has been at the heart of WCC’s work since its founding seven decades ago, and WCC has been collaborating closely with the UNHCR Statelessness Section since the 2012 High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Faith and Protection. “With regard to statelessness, we are promoting two specific aspects of the UNHCR campaign: birth registration and gender equality in nationality laws. These are two entry points where we are engaging our 348 member churches representing more than 500 million persons of Christian faith and partners to collaborate on eradicating statelessness”, said Noffsinger, noting that collaboration with UNHCR colleagues has been instrumental in the WCC yearly regional training workshops, in places such as Beirut and Addis-Ababa.
“Like many of you, I have eaten with and worked with those who have no legal identity. We have felt their despair deep in the enclaves of our own souls. It is for them we continue this work. It is for a more complete humanity that recognizes each person’s value and worth for which we labor. It is toward that end we unite this day as a voice for the inclusion of all people in this pilgrimage for justice and peace”, concluded Noffsinger.
Further, WCC is currently discussing with the UNHCR opportunities for an interfaith event which will ensure other faith traditions bring their contributions and concerns with regards to the issue of statelessness to the table.
WCC is organizing a webinar on the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness on 4 November at 13:00-15:00 CEST. Panellists of the webinar will include Zahra Albarazi, co-founder and senior researcher, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, The Netherlands; Radha Govil, Legal Office, Statelessness Section, UNHCR, Switzerland; Nathan Hosler, director, Church of the Brethren’s Office of Public Witness, USA and others. Participation in the webinar and interaction with the panellists will be available via webinar.oikoumene.org.
