Ten million people around the world are stateless, and every 10 minutes a child is born without a nationality. Raising a voice for this cause, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHRC) on Tuesday launched a 10-year campaign called "IBelong".
The campaign is based on the foundation of an idealistic world where everyone has the right to nationality, according to article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This can be seen in their online petition, “I belong to world where everyone has nationality.”
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said, “I encourage people across the world to sign the UNHRC open letter to end statelessness.” Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie backed the campaign by extending their support.
Also Read: Angelina Jolie, Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu back UN drive to end statelessness in a decade
The concern has grown and evolved over the last few years. The UN had earlier attempted to come up with two treaties that were signed by 100 states in 2011. The number of states supporting these today has increased to 144.
What does being "stateless" mean?
10 million people in the world don't belong anywhere. In the absence of legal paperwork and basic documents like passport and birth certificate, they are denied national identity. This results in the individual becoming "stateless", and the failure of not belonging to any country means the government is not obliged to provide the basic rights of citizenship.
What are the implications of being "stateless"?
Due to failure to produce any identity proof, such individuals are often denied the political right to vote and the basic right to education. It often means the failure to marry someone or even being allowed a legal burial or a death certificate.
Why is it a global concern?
Most people who have suffered the consequences of being stateless have often complained about the discrimination they face based on ethnicity, religion or gender. Many of these people are refugees.
The UN warns that the growing number of major conflicts, such as in Syria, have displaced millions of people. More than 50,000 children have been born to Syrian refugee parents in Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Egypt since the start of the conflict in 2011. Over a third of the world’s stateless are children.
Also Read: Where do the world's 1 crore stateless people live?
How can you help?
The United Nations Refugee Agency has launched a massive social media campaign. Their aim is to get 10,000 signatures across the world through their online petition in order to attract legal attention from governments. They believe that through effective laws and procedures, the injustice of being stateless can be eradicated.
Watch the video below to know more:
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