UN: 10m People Stateless Worldwide with Thousands of Them Living in West Africa

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that at least 10 million people around the world were stateless with thousands of them living in the West Africa sub-region.

Deputy, UNHCR Representative to Nigeria, Mr. Roger Hollo, disclosed this during an Interactive Session with ECOWAS Permanent Representatives Committee on Statelessness in Abuja.

A stateless person is one not considered a national by any state under the operation of its law, meaning that a stateless person does not have a nationality of any country.

While some people are born stateless, others can become stateless.

According to him, UNHCR believes that statelessness can be resolved if ECOWAS countries will implement the Abidjan Declaration by developing an action plan to eradicate or prevent statelessness.

“While definite statistics on stateless persons cannot easily be provided, UNHCR estimates that at least 10 million people around the world are stateless.

“Many hundreds of thousands live in West Africa, where many more are believed to be at risk.

“The phenomenon remains largely unknown. Statelessness can mean a life without education, without medical care, or legal employment.

“It can mean a life without the ability to move freely, without prospects or hope.

“Stateless people are often denied the rights and services that countries normally offer their citizens.

“The goal of eradicating statelessness is looking increasingly possible, thanks to dramatic recent progress in the number of states acceding to the two key UN human rights treaties.

“In 2011, there were barely 100 state parties to the two statelessness treaties – the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

“UNHCR believes that statelessness can be resolved.

“In the four years since the launch of UNHCR global #ibelong campaign to end statelessness by 2024, the ECOWAS region has worked toward achieving the goals set out in the campaign,” he said.

He added that in 2015, ECOWAS countries signed the Abidjan Declaration on the Eradication of Statelessness in ECOWAS members states, followed by the Banjul Plan of Action in 2017.

Hollo said that ECOWAS could play a key role in keeping the momentum in the region, with a focus on legal reforms within its member states to prevent and address statelessness.