Barbara Hendricks visits Cote d'Ivoire to highlight the problems caused by Statelessness

Stateless people may have difficulty accessing basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. Without these things, they can face a lifetime of obstacles.

31 July 2014

  • Goodwill Ambassador Barbara Hendricks talks to a mother and children in the transit camp on the border of Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire. July 2014.
    Goodwill Ambassador Barbara Hendricks talks to a mother and children in the transit camp on the border of Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire. July 2014. © UNHCR/P. Wu
  • Barbara is greeted by one of the students of SOS Village in Aboisso, on the outskirts of Abidjan. She told the children that, "it is unacceptable to tell anyone that they do not have rights because they are stateless" and explained that her role as Goodwill Ambassador is to speak on their behalf, share their stories with the outside world and put a face to the problem of Statelessness, which is one of invisibility and exclusion from mainstream society. June 2014
    Barbara is greeted by one of the students of SOS Village in Aboisso, on the outskirts of Abidjan. She told the children that, "it is unacceptable to tell anyone that they do not have rights because they are stateless" and explained that her role as Goodwill Ambassador is to speak on their behalf, share their stories with the outside world and put a face to the problem of Statelessness, which is one of invisibility and exclusion from mainstream society. June 2014 © UNHCR/N. Strum
  • Barbara Hendricks stands with Elise in the village of Dronguine, Cote D'Ivoire. Elise's children had just been given their birth certificates preventing them from being Stateless. July 2014
    Barbara Hendricks stands with Elise in the village of Dronguine, Cote D'Ivoire. Elise's children had just been given their birth certificates preventing them from being Stateless. July 2014 © UNHCR/P. Wu
  • Standing with the villagers of Dronguine, Cote D'Ivoire. Their children had just been given their birth certificates. Without documents they would risk being Stateless. July 2014
    Standing with the villagers of Dronguine, Cote D'Ivoire. Their children had just been given their birth certificates. Without documents they would risk being Stateless. July 2014 © UNHCR/P. Wu
  • Barbara talks to Antoinette about having no registration papers: "I do not exist and can not even open a bank account without my papers." July 2014
    Barbara talks to Antoinette about having no registration papers: "I do not exist and can not even open a bank account without my papers." July 2014 © UNHCR/P. Wu