Nosizi stands proudly on graduation day, with a bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. "I feel honored to be the first person from my community to graduate from the university. It’s something that I take pride in,” says Noszi Dube. © UNHCR/Charity Nzomo
NAIROBI – More than half a million people around the world who were living in the shadows, deprived of their right to nationality, have now acquired citizenship since the inception a decade ago of the #IBelong campaign, according to a new report on statelessness released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
A major human rights violation, statelessness deprives individuals of basic legal rights, leaving them politically and economically marginalized, unable to access critical services like health and education, discriminated against and particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. UNHCR launched the campaign in October 2014 to mobilize international action to resolve the scourge of statelessness.
In Kenya, there have been many notable achievements over the last 10 years to enable thousands of stateless people to achieve pathways to citizenship, to better identify and protect stateless people, or to help ensure that no child is born stateless. The country has made significant strides, beginning with the registration of 1,496 members of the Makonde community in 2016, followed by the provision of citizenship to 1,659 Shona in 2020-21, and most recently, the recognition of approximately 7,000 Pemba in 2023.
Whilst there are still an estimated 9,800 individuals who are stateless in the country, these milestones underscore Kenya’s commitment to addressing statelessness, a commitment reaffirmed at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in December 2023 through four strategic pledges aimed at the progressive eradication of statelessness in the country.
“The #IBelong campaign has highlighted global injustice and the Government of Kenya has taken decisive action to address statelessness in the country. Previously invisible, formerly stateless communities can now participate and contribute fully to life in Kenya,” said UNHCR’s Representative in Kenya, Caroline Van Buren.
As the #IBelong campaign approaches its end, a meeting known as the “High-Level Segment on Statelessness” will take place on Monday at UNHCR’s annual Executive Committee meeting in Geneva. Here, the global push against statelessness will continue. More than 100 government delegations and around 50 intergovernmental organizations and civil society representatives will attend. Nosizi Dube, a member of the Shona community will attend the High-Level Segment and share her lived experience from statelessness to citizenship and her academic achievements in Nairobi. To harness the momentum, UNHCR is launching a Global Alliance to End Statelessness at the gathering. This Alliance will unite States, UN agencies, civil society, stateless-led organizations and individuals, academia, the private sector, and many others to amplify collective advocacy efforts and drive political commitments and legal reform to ensure that everyone enjoys the right to a nationality without discrimination.
Alongside this 10-year anniversary of the #Ibelong campaign, UNHCR has also conducted a follow up socioeconomic survey of the Shona community to investigate transformation of stateless populations post-citizenship. The survey finds that livelihood barriers have reduced for the Shona community, access to health insurance has nearly tripled, and access to banking and mobile wallet has skyrocketed for the population. A policy brief outlining the changing dynamics of the Shona community can be found here.
UNHCR advocates for the rights of stateless people and works with a range of partners to prevent and end statelessness globally. In total, UNHCR reported 4.4 million stateless people in 2023, but millions more are affected as data only covers around half of all countries worldwide. About 1.3 million stateless people globally are also displaced. See here for more information on our work.
ENDS
Read the report on statelessness for more details: The #IBelong Campaign: A Decade of Action to End Statelessness, 2014-2024.
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