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A court decision in the Dominican Republic annulling the citizenship of an estimated 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian ancestry has been strongly criticized by church leaders, including the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

A set of recommendations advocating the rights of stateless persons was presented by a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation at the First Global Forum on Statelessness organized by the UNHCR and Tilburg University in The Hague, Netherlands.

To give visibility to the voices of stateless people in our society as well as to strategize together in how to support protection of their rights, a consultation was held by church organizations in Den Dolder, the Netherlands, in preparation of the UNHCR First Global Forum on Statelessness to be held from 15 to 17 September in The Hague.

Along with other faith-based groups, the WCC has helped develop a declaration, launched by the United Nations refugee agency. It aims to strengthen protection for the world’s refugees as well as internally displaced and stateless people, who account for more than 40 million people in the world.

“Discrimination and statelessness live side by side; it is no coincidence that most stateless people belong to racial, linguistic and religious minorities,” read a recent communique issued at the end of a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation on stateless people in Washington, D.C., United States.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation has urged protection for the rights of over 12 million stateless people around the world, encouraging  governments to ensure their basic human right to citizenship, adequate access to health care, education and employment.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will hold an international consultation on the rights of stateless people. The event will take place in Washington, D.C., and address the concerns of nearly 12 million stateless people around the world, who are not considered a national by any state.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary welcomed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Dialogue on Protection Challenges with the theme of "Faith and Protection" which was held on 12-13 December 2012 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.