ISI Database on Statelessness and
Human Rights

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of the Republic of Zambia hereby commits to ensure, by 2020, the accession to the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

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The Government of the Republic of Zambia hereby commits: Facilitate, by 2023, naturalization procedures for stateless persons and their children to acquire nationality.

The Government of the Republic of Zambia hereby commits: Simplify and improve, by 2023, access to birth registration and certification, for persons born in Zambia, including late birth registration, to ensure universal birth registration for all children, including refugees and asylum seekers born on the territory.

The Government of the Republic of Zambia hereby commits: Support the adoption of the draft Regional Action Plan to end statelessness in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region so that the region moves in tandem with the rest of the world. [Year of Completion: 2023]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: By 2021, undertake and publish a qualitative and quantitative study to better understand the situation of stateless groups and individuals living in its territory with a view to finding a solution to their situation.

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: Based on the findings of the study, develop a National Action Plan by 2022 in ending statelessness by 2024.

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders towards the accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness by 2023.The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: Include a question or questions in its next national census in 2022 to identify stateless persons living in its territory.

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: By 2023, establish a dedicated statelessness determination procedure to identify stateless persons within the territory and grant them protection status with an aim to solutions.

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: By 2023, complete the ongoing process of aligning its Citizenship Act [Chapter 4:01] and Births and Deaths Registration Act [Chapter 5:02] with the new Constitution (Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act. 20 1.1) in ensuring the proper safeguards in preventing statelessness.

The Government of Zimbabwe hereby commits: By 2024, simplify and improve access to birth registration procedures, including issuance of birth certificates to descendants of former migrant workers and failed asylum seekers to ensure universal birth registration.

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to provide CONARE with the necessary resources and trainings to implement the statelessness determination procedure no later than 6 months from the enactment of the Law. [Year of Completion 2020]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to take the necessary administrative measures so that the children of naturalized Argentine citizens who are in a situation of statelessness or at risk of statelessness abroad can access the procedure for opting for the Argentine nationality. [Y.o.C. 2020]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to take all the necessary measures before the pertinent judicial authorities in order to facilitate and promote the naturalisation of persons recognised as stateless, in accordance with Article 32 of the 1954 Convention.

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to develop studies, in coordination with UNHCR, in order to find out about the problems of under-registration of births in all provinces of the country. [Y.o.C. 2022]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to develop awareness and sensitisation campaigns aimed at mothers and fathers on the importance of birth registration and the subsequent acquisition of documentation, with a focus on public healthcare centres, as well as training and awareness activities for authorities of healthcare facilities and for officials of the Civil Registry, especially for those outside of the capitals, so that they register births correctly, without discrimination and without demanding additional documents to those established by current law. [Y.o.C. 2022]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to strengthen the coordination through the Federal Council of Civil Registries, as a formal institutional space for the exchange of good practices and challenges and to coordinate efforts in favour of birth registration. [Y.o.C. 2023]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits: Within the framework of the Latin American and Caribbean Council for Civil Registration, Identification, and Vital Statistics Annual Conference (CLARCIEV), to promote the exchange of good practices to prevent and solve cases of statelessness within the scope of the Civil Registry, and to foster, in coordination with other relevant bodies, a comparative study of the laws, policies, administrative practices and jurisprudence concerning birth registration, thus allowing the identification of existing standards and gaps that cause cases of statelessness or that hinder the solution of existing cases. [Y.o.C. 2022]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to promote awareness and training activities on statelessness within the framework of MERCOSUR, both within the CONARES Meeting and the High-Level and Human Rights Authorities Meeting. [Y.o.C. 2021]

The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby commits to undertake, in coordination with UNHCR, seminars on statelessness for officials of the Judiciary, in order to facilitate comprehension of the problem as an issue of human rights, to increase the level of knowledge about this problem and to favour its prevention. [Y.o.C. 2022]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of Belize hereby commits: A well-functioning system of birth registration events promotes the civil rights and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the management and delivery of government services, including health and social welfare benefits to the people. It is also the source of reliable, current and continuous information on vital events that would support informed decision at all levels. Although the birth registration system has been operational in Belize for many decades, it has not yet reached its full potential.

In 2015 UNICEF and the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) conducted a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey which revealed that approximately four percent of children remain outside of the system and are not registered at all. The children from poor families and those in rural areas are least likely to have a birth certificate. Children in the Toledo district are somewhat less likely to have their births registered than other children, as are children in the poorest households. It is good that the country has achieved a birth registration coverage rate of 96% and very few countries have this record. But in terms of child’s rights and other human rights, four percent of the population between the ages of 0 – 5 is still not registered and therefore not counted.

In 2016 the Government of Belize commissioned the development of a Bottleneck Analysis of Birth Registration. The analysis was commissioned in order to provide an opportunity to take stock of the current performance practices and levels and serve as a foundation to devise comprehensive and holistic strategies to effectively ensure the attainment of an effective and efficient Birth Registration (BR) system.

During the assessment of the birth registration system and the bottleneck analysis, a Steering Committee was set up after a thorough analysis of all the stakeholders. The committee is composed of governmental institutions and UN agencies closely associated with the BR system. These key institutions are those that are important and influential in the system and are important to the outcome of the reform process.

The same Steering Committee oversees the entire reform planning exercise and have developed a drafted plan with a multitude of activities to be carried out between 2019-2022 with the goal of carrying out a holistic review of the National Birth Registration system and address the gaps identified in the bottleneck analysis by proposing the change of some existing government processes, while reinforcing good practices.

The plan has been drafted and is currently undertaking implementation through utilizing public funding, and other available external resources that are offered through the support of UNHCR, UNICEF and other stakeholders.

This commitment corresponds to recommendation “6.90. Continue and expand the current efforts to make birth registration more accessible and efficient (Guyana)” of the Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Thirty-first session, Geneva, 5–16 November 2018. [Year of Completion 2022]

The Government of Belize hereby commits: Belize is party to both conventions on statelessness and acknowledges the recommendation on the adoption of a comprehensive internal legislation establishing a statelessness determination procedure to identify and guarantee the rights and protection of stateless persons. Statelessness in Belize is not perceived, however, as a major issue.

Belize has a birth coverage rate of 96%. Furthermore, the Belizean Constitution guarantees through the Immigration Act that any individual born in Belize, notwithstanding the immigration status of the parents, is automatically a Belizean; and any individual born in any jurisdiction or any undefined jurisdiction, having one parent as a Belizean, is automatically deemed to be a Belizean by descent. Considering this, it is a rare occurrence that a Belizean should remain stateless. This notwithstanding, there may be instances of statelessness along the border communities of Belize. In this regard, Belize commits to undertake a gap analysis on the national level to determine the scale of the challenge of statelessness in Belize, and further establish an appropriate mechanism to guarantee the rights and protection of stateless persons in Belize. This would be a necessary step in determining the need for possible legislative review with a view to making appropriate amendments.

Acknowledging the gravity of the situation of a stateless person and the current legal gap of a concrete structure on statelessness, Belize identifies this as a pragmatic approach in the work toward combating statelessness.

This commitment corresponds to recommendation “6.97. Adopt national legislation on statelessness, in particular regarding a statelessness determination procedure to identify and guarantee the rights and protection of stateless persons (Mexico)” and recommendation “6.98. Adopt comprehensive legislation establishing a statelessness determination procedure to identify and guarantee the rights and protection of stateless persons (Serbia)”, of the Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Thirty-first session, Geneva, 5–16 November 2018. [Y.o.C. 2024]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Bolivian State is committed to coordinating and working with UNHCR to conduct training workshops and/or seminars on statelessness and refugees, to raise awareness and foster a common understanding around these topics. [Year of Completion 2020]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of the Republic of Colombia hereby commits to promote the monitoring of the implementation measures adopted for the prevention of statelessness in the case of children born in Colombia of Venezuelan parents. [Year of Completion: 2020]

The Government of the Republic of Colombia hereby commits: Once the Migration Law is enacted, through its regulations an administrative procedure will be established to determine the stateless condition. [Y.o.C. -]

To promote before the Congress of the Republic the process of the Bill whereby the Colombian State’s comprehensive migration policy is established, and which includes a legal framework on statelessness. [Y.o.C. -]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness 

The Costa Rican Government undertakes to reduce the time for the resolution of applications to determine the status as a stateless person. [Year of Completion 2020]

The Government of Costa Rica commits to make periodic visits to areas of the country where a high incidence of possible cases of statelessness or persons at risk of statelessness are identified. During these visits, consultations will be attended, requests may be submitted to start the statelessness determination procedure and interviews will be conducted in the places. This to facilitate access to the procedure for everyone, especially for vulnerable population or have difficulty traveling to the capital. [Y.o.C 2020]

The Government of Costa Rica hereby commits to make the necessary modifications to the Regulation for the Statelessness Determination Process, Executive Decree 39620-RE-G, the Migration Regulation, Executive Decree 36769-G, and the General Law on Migration and Foreigners Regulation, Executive Decree 19010-G, in order to formally include statelessness regulations, specifically so that stateless persons and applicants for the condition have the chance to request an identification document and a travel document that allows them to leave, travel and enter the country freely. [Y.o.C 2021]

The Government of Costa Rica hereby commits to generate mechanisms for durable solutions that guarantee the integration of stateless persons. The Costa Rican Government commits to provide accompaniment, follow-up and legal advice to stateless persons declared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, to guarantee that the access to the necessary information is correct and help them to eradicate their status as a stateless person. This accompaniment will consist of providing the corresponding information about the options that are available so that they can make an informed decision about the process of naturalisation or permanent residence that are available. They will also be provided with institutional and legal advice and also support to carry out procedures before governmental instances. The Government of Costa Rica commits to create and provide informative documents about the process of naturalisation and permanent residence. A database will be created, containing the information of all the persons declared stateless, to periodically monitor their integration process. [Y.o.C 2020]

The Costa Rican Government undertakes to reinforce the mechanisms for the registration of all births in the country, increasing efforts for the registration of births in border areas, indigenous territories and rural areas with difficult access. The Costa Rican Government commits to ensure the presence of workers who will directly assist the population in the field, specifically in the rural areas of the northern border, through the mechanism “Model of differentiated care for the prevention of statelessness in indigenous areas and borders”. [Y.o.C 2020]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of Cooperative Republic of Guyana hereby commits to continue to simplify and improve access to birth registration procedures including late birth registration to ensure universal birth registration. [Year of Completion: -]

The Government of Cooperative Republic of Guyana hereby commits to ensure that particular groups which are entitled to nationality under law, but that have not acquired documentary proof of nationality, are able to do so, by improving access of such persons to individual nationality documentation services. [Y.o.C. -]

The Government of Cooperative Republic of Guyana hereby commits over the remaining years of the #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness, Guyana, commits to work with the UNHCR, to raise awareness and foster common understanding about statelessness nationally, with outreach activities, especially in remote locations of Guyana. [Y.o.C. 2024]

The Government of Cooperative Republic of Guyana hereby commits to implement its obligations under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in a manner that is inclusive of stateless persons in its territory.

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

The Government of Haiti hereby commits to review the legislation on nationality. [Year of Completion 2024]

The Government of Haiti hereby commits to continuing the reform of the civil registry system. [Y.o.C. 2024]

The Government of Haiti hereby commits to simplify and improve access to birth registration procedures in order to prevent the risk of statelessness in rural and hard-to-reach areas. [Y.o.C. 2022]

UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness

Ensure that no child is born stateless and ensure birth registration to prevent statelessness. The Electoral Tribunal, through the National Directorate of the Civil Registry and the National Identification Directorate, will continue with the development and execution of the program "timely registration of births as a mechanism to guarantee identity, nationality, and identification, thereby preventing the risk of Statelessness." It will also continue with the binational identity days, with their counterparts from the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Colombia. (Year of Completion 2020)

The Republic of Panama will establish an Interinstitutional Commission that will facilitate the implementation of Executive Decree NO. 10 of January 16, 2019, which regulates Law 28 of March 30, 2011, which approves the Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons of 1954, and establishes a procedure for determining statelessness within the administrative structure. (Y.o.C. 2020)

The Republic of Panama will develop a training, awareness and dissemination program for officials competent in this area, developing efforts jointly with ministries and entities that have contact with the population mainly in border areas, areas of difficult access and urban areas, including population in general in relation to the Convention and Executive Degree 10 of 2019, with the objective that they can determine a possible case of a person at risk of statelessness. It is expected to have quantitative and qualitative data procedure of the stateless population in the Republic of Panama. (Y.o.C. 2021)