Thematic Consultation on Protection of People in Situations of Human Mobility and Statelessness, May 2024

In the previous bulletin we explained the importance of the Cartagena +40 process in the Americas. Below is part of the official summary of the first consultation that took place in Mexico.

"Progress was recognized in reducing underregistration rates in the region, without prejudice to the persistent obstacles to birth registration in contexts of human mobility, particularly for people in transit. Participants reflected on possible alternatives to address crises that may result in risks of statelessness, highlighting the importance of identifying the causes that generate them.

Good practices were shared that could be implemented in the region, including measures aimed at facilitating birth registration in mobility situations, including late registration; simplifying procedures for the validation and issuance of copies and identity or civil registry documents to people in mobility situations; and strengthening cooperation and information exchange among civil registry institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, among others.

The relevance of promoting other key actions aimed at protecting stateless persons and preventing statelessness in the region was also mentioned, including the establishment of statelessness determination procedures, the flexibilization and facilitation of naturalization procedures for refugees and stateless persons, and the importance of strengthening civil registries. The commitments formalized by several States and by the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Civil Registry, Identity and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV) at the Second Global Refugee Forum were highlighted, and alignment of the Chile Plan of Action with the Global Alliance Against Statelessness was encouraged.

Based on the interventions, six priority areas of focus were identified, to be addressed across the board with a gender, intersectional, and intercultural approach, with special focus on children." By way of example, we reproduce below two of these areas.

"Statelessness determination: It is necessary to establish specific procedures for determining statelessness that are efficient, accessible, and reasonable in terms of timing. It was proposed to establish procedures that allow the simultaneous application for international protection, refugee status, temporary protection, or complementary protection, for stateless persons who need it. The importance of facilitating the registration of children born to people in transit in order to avoid risks of statelessness was emphasized. The importance of implementing universal birth registration at borders for indigenous and cross-border populations, through binational agreements and cooperation, and of deploying mobile brigades in rural or remote areas was also highlighted."

"Access to and loss or deprivation of nationality: It is necessary to facilitate access to naturalization for stateless persons in the context of flexible and simplified procedures, guaranteeing due process in those cases linked to loss or deprivation of nationality, while maintaining the principle of non-discrimination as a cross-cutting axis in matters of access to, loss of, or deprivation of nationality."

Looking ahead

Recognizing that Cartagena +40 was a process inaugurated by the majority of states in the Americas in 1984, there remains a need for civil society, affected persons, and human rights defenders to have more space and structured participation, given their important role as a complement to regional governance on these issues. We recall that ten years ago the regional network on statelessness in the Americas, Red ANA, was founded to foster synergies among civil society actors working on statelessness in different challenging contexts. The network is currently being restructured, rotating its leadership and increasing the visibility of stateless persons and their protection needs through the lens of the "Spirit of Cartagena." OBMICA is fully committed to this regional initiative.