Extracts relevant to Africa:<\/p>\n
<\/span>Mobilizing governments and civil society<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n On 14 February, in Kenya<\/strong>, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in collaboration with Haki Centre Organization, Kwale Human Rights Network and UNHCR, organized a meeting in Kwale County, between Members of Parliament who are supporting a petition to recognize the Pemba community and members of the Pemba stateless community. The meeting was an opportunity to provide an update on the status of the petition and the actions that were taken since.<\/p>\n On 17 February, in Somalia<\/strong>, the Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation, organized a capacity-building workshop on the national legal framework on nationality and statelessness and the Somalia National Action Plan to End Statelessness 2021-2024 for Jubaland officials dealing with citizenship and documentation and representatives from civil society. Participants were able to familiarize themselves with the National Action Plan and the relevant activities to end statelessness in Somalia.<\/p>\n During her mission to<\/span><\/span> Zimbabwe<\/strong>,<\/span><\/span> from 19 to 21<\/span><\/span> January, UNHCR\u2019s Assistant High Commissioner for<\/span><\/span> Protection, Ms. Gillian Triggs, met with the Ministers<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 responsible for Refugees and Foreign Affairs, where<\/span><\/span> she encouraged the Government of Zimbabwe to<\/span><\/span> accede to the 1961 Convention and implement the<\/span><\/span> pledges made by Zimbabwe during the 2019 High-<\/span><\/span>Level Segment on Statelessness.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n On 14 February, in Abuja,<\/span><\/span> Nigeria<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> UNHCR<\/span><\/span> convened<\/span><\/span> the annual partnership coordination meeting with<\/span><\/span> the Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs<\/span><\/span> of the Economic Community of West African States<\/span><\/span> (ECOWAS<\/strong>) Commission. The meeting resulted in the<\/span><\/span> development of a joint workplan for 2022. ECOWAS<\/span><\/span> reiterated its support for the adoption of the<\/span><\/span> Regional Model Law on statelessness determination <\/span><\/span>procedures and the protection of stateless persons<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n On 9 and 10 March, in<\/span><\/span> Burkina Faso<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, in support<\/span><\/span> of the Government\u2019s efforts to ensure\u00a0 effective<\/span><\/span> civil registration and documentation to prevent<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 statelessness, UNHCR organized a training for<\/span><\/span> 40 local government employees in charge of<\/span><\/span> civil registration and documentation. The training<\/span><\/span> focused on the causes of statelessness, the<\/span><\/span> importance of civil registration for the prevention<\/span><\/span> of statelessness and the national legal framework.<\/span><\/span> Representatives from the media also attended the<\/span><\/span> training, with the view to reinforce and support<\/span><\/span> public communication and awareness raising efforts.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n On 15 March, in<\/span><\/span> Mali<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, UNHCR and the Government<\/span><\/span> Committee on Statelessness organized an event<\/span><\/span> to present and disseminate the study \u201c<\/span><\/span>Risks of<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 statelessness in Mali and for Malians residing<\/span><\/span> abroad<\/span><\/span>\u201d. The audience was mainly composed<\/span><\/span> of students and lecturers from the University of <\/span><\/span>Bamako.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Implementation of the Global Action Plan<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In line with<\/span><\/span> Action 7: Ensure birth registration for<\/span><\/span> the prevention of statelessness,<\/span><\/span> efforts to raise<\/span><\/span> awareness on the importance of birth registration<\/span><\/span> and to facilitate access continued<\/span><\/span> in Kenya<\/strong><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> UNHCR, the Haki Centre Organization and the local<\/span><\/span> Civil Registrar in Malindi\u00a0 organized a community<\/span><\/span> sensitization and birth certificate distribution<\/span><\/span> exercise in the Magarini area in Kilifi County. The<\/span><\/span> issuance of birth\u00a0 certificates followed a mobile<\/span><\/span> registration exercise conducted in December 2021,<\/span><\/span> during which 2,356 applications were made. The<\/span><\/span> exercise\u00a0 targeted members of the stateless Pemba<\/span><\/span> community and other members of the community in<\/span><\/span> the area.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Efforts to provide birth certificates to vulnerable populations were also made in Sudan<\/strong>. The Commissioner for Refugees, the Civil Registry\u00a0 and UNHCR issued birth certificates to 683 South Sudanese refugee children living in the North Kordofan State. This exercise was the first\u00a0 time refugee children were able to access birth certificates in this region.<\/p>\n UNHCR in Algeria<\/strong> continued its efforts to refer persons of concern for legal assistance to facilitate access to birth registration, including\u00a0 through late birth registration. UNHCR also developed an information leaflet on civil registration and documentation procedures, including an overview of available assistance.<\/p>\n The Government of Burkina Faso<\/strong> rolled out the digital civil registration tool, Icivil, to the Gourcy municipality in the Nord region, where many populations at risk of statelessness reside. The tool facilitates birth registration for the prevention of statelessness, for example by\u00a0 allowing midwives to quickly create a notification of birth using a phone, thereby facilitating birth registration.<\/p>\n In Zambia<\/strong>, the Department of National Registration, Passports and Citizenship in collaboration with the Office of the Commissioner for\u00a0 Refugees, and supported by UNHCR, conducted birth registration and documentation exercises at the Meheba, Mayukwayukwa and\u00a0 Mantapala refugee settlements and in Lusaka. Birth registration and birth certificates are essential for children to obtain their refugee documentation and a legal status in the country. In advance of the exercise, an information campaign was organized to sensitize the target\u00a0 population on the importance of birth registration. A total of 1,612 births were registered and 231 birth certificates and 2,982 refugee\u00a0 documents were issued.<\/p>\n In Rwanda<\/strong>, in accordance with Action 10: Improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations, the National Statelessness Taskforce started training over 3,000 government officials. The training is a key-element to the implementation of a country-wide survey to\u00a0 identify stateless persons and persons of undetermined nationality, expected to be completed by mid-2022.<\/p>\n