Cosponsors:
Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, European Network on Statelessness,
Global Alliance to End Statelessness, Global Movement Against Statelessness,
Hawiati MENA Statelessness Network, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion,
Nationality For All, The Philippines, Southern African Nationality Network,
Stateless and Dignified Citizenship Coalition Asia Pacific,
The United Kingdom, UNHCR, UN Women
16 December 2025 from 8:15-9:30 AM CET (Light breakfast available at 8:00)
Venue: UNHCR Headquarters, Sadako Ogata conference room, Rue de Montbrillant 94, Geneva, Switzerland & Online
Register for In-Person Attendance in Geneva here. /
Register for Online Participation here.
*Arabic and French interpretation available online via Zoom.*
Reflecting on progress on the Multistakeholder Pledge on Statelessness, the event “Solutions to Statelessness: Multistakeholder Action to Achieve Equal Nationality Rights for All” will focus on joint action to end statelessness and discriminatory nationality laws; recent momentum for solutions; further steps needed to realize the SDGs and GCR objectives; and the role of impacted activists, civil society, states, and UN agencies to achieve equal nationality rights for all. The event will feature impacted activists and representatives of champion states and UN agencies.
Speakers:
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Adriana Quiñones, UN Women Chief, Human Rights and Nondiscrimination
- Annabel Gerry, Joint Head of Migration Department, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, The United Kingdom
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Christy Chitengu, Global Movement Against Statelessness (South Africa)
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Christiana Bukalo, Statefree (Germany)
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Hasnaa Eisa, Warsheh Team (Syria)
- Neha Gurung, Citizenship Affected Peoples Network (Nepal)
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Nikolai Levasov, United Stateless (USA)
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Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection
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The Philippines Representative (TBC)
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The United Kingdom Representitive (TBC)
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Background:
Citizenship forms the foundation of individuals’ relationship with the state and often determines access to a range of fundamental human rights. The lack of a nationality, statelessness, is a human rights violation in its own right while causing other wide-ranging human rights violations and inhibiting global goals including sustainable development, gender equality, and children’s rights and wellbeing. Statelessness is often rooted in discrimination based on identity, with women in over forty countries denied the right to confer citizenship on their child or spouse on an equal basis with men, and individuals denied nationality in many countries due to their belonging to a minority group. Statelessness and discriminatory nationality laws not only harm individuals and their families but negatively impact society as a whole.
Without citizenship, impacted persons are often inhibited from accessing education, healthcare, formal employment, financial services, property rights and inheritance, their freedom of movement, and their full participation in society generally. The denial of nationality can put huge financial, psychological, and physical strains on families, which can result in intergenerational poverty. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are significantly inhibited wherever this form of legal discrimination persists. Statelessness and discriminatory nationality laws also threaten family unity and contribute to gender-based violence, including child marriage and human trafficking. While the risk of statelessness increases in contexts of conflict and displacement, stateless persons are themselves at increased risk of forced displacement.
Recent action has resulted in progress to address the root causes of statelessness, including through nationality law reforms, and mobilization policy solutions led by impacted activists and civil society in partnership with allied policymakers and other stakeholders. Yet, concerted multistakeholder action at the global, regional, and national levels is required to realize equal nationality rights for all – action that is essential to realizing global goals including inclusive, sustainable development, gender equality, and children’s rights and wellbeing.
Reflecting on progress on the Multistakeholder Pledge on Statelessness and related statelessness pledges and in a moment requiring redoubled commitments to solutions in the wake of budget cuts and the humanitarian reset, the GRF Progress Review event “Solutions to Statelessness: Multistakeholder Action to Achieve Equal Nationality Rights for All,” will provide an overview of: the impact of statelessness and discriminatory nationality laws on the realization of global goals, in particular sustainable development and progress in meeting GCR objectives; recent multistakeholder momentum to end statelessness and seek solutions; the importance of localisation and meaningful participation; and the role of civil society, in partnership with states and UN agencies, in mobilizing action to achieve equal nationality rights and to address statelessness.
The event is being co-organized by a coalition of civil society actors, including stateless-led organizations and individuals with lived experience of statelessness, in partnership with co-sponsoring States and UN agencies. The event will elevate awareness of solutions to end statelessness and serve as a call to action for additional commitments by states and other key stakeholders to be solution-seekers to end statelessness.