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Working with Partners
Who UNHCR Works with to Help the Stateless
Governments establish who their nationals are. They are therefore responsible for legal and policy reforms that are necessary to effectively address situations of statelessness. UNHCR, other UN and international agencies, regional organizations, civil society and stateless people all have roles to play in supporting governments' work on statelessness.
Working with partners is how UNHCR manages to make a real difference. Each of the four areas of our work overlap with the expertise of other international organizations and NGOs. Statelessness affects a whole range of specific groups including minorities, women and children.
Addressing statelessness relates to children's rights, non-discrimination, the rule of law and good governance, and has major development implications. Crucially, UNHCR's response is informed by the concerns and needs of stateless communities in order to better assist them.
UNHCR also relies on the local knowledge and expertise of NGOs, civil society groups, national human rights institutions, academics, legal associations and the media. Their contribution to our work allows us to prepare and recommend solutions which are relevant to the social and political climate we work in. Regional and sub-regional organizations can advocate with countries to honour their commitments to human rights standards.
Collaboration with other UN agencies is also important to ensure effective results. For example, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has long worked on improving birth registration and civil registries; the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) can help governments design and implement national censuses and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) supports monitoring of the human rights of stateless people by the UN human rights treaty bodies.
UN Conventions on Statelessness
The two UN statelessness conventions are the key legal instruments in the protection of stateless people around the world.
