On October 25, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) co-organized the “Southeast Asia Senior Officials’ Seminar on Civil Registration, Identity Documents and Prevention of Statelessness” to strengthen countries’ efforts in addressing statelessness.
The forum provided an opportunity for countries to share practical experiences and success stories in reducing and preventing statelessness. The event was organized to promote the participation of governments and stakeholders in addressing statelessness as the world is more than halfway to 2030.
Speaking at the seminar, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized that Southeast Asian countries need to continue to coordinate more closely to implement solutions to prevent and reduce statelessness at the national, regional and global levels. This will help manage population and migration more effectively and better protect and promote human rights.
Mr. Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said that Southeast Asian countries have made significant progress in addressing statelessness in recent years, although many challenges remain, and believes that sharing success stories and good practices will encourage governments to take further steps to end statelessness in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asian Senior Officials' Dialogue on Civil Registration, Identity Documents and Prevention of Statelessness. Photo dangcongsan.vn
Ms. Pauline Temesis, UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, said that to address statelessness in the region more effectively, additional, accelerated and targeted actions are needed.
Government officials and international experts discussed concrete approaches to advancing the goal of ending statelessness. Topics discussed included how birth registration and identity document issuance systems can become truly universal, helping to address a key risk factor for statelessness in Southeast Asia.
During the discussion, experts also examined the links between ending statelessness, eradicating poverty, fully implementing the global sustainable development goals and progress towards inclusive societies.
A stateless person is someone who does not have citizenship of any country. More than half of the world's stateless people live in Asia, with about 2.5 million people counted in the region.
Over the years, countries in Southeast Asia have taken important steps to end statelessness. These steps are a key element of national strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Source
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