Global Alliance to End Statelessness

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE TO END STATELESSNESS 

• The Global Alliance to End Statelessness (Global Alliance) is a collaborative multistakeholder platform, hosted by UNHCR, committed to accelerating solutions that bring an end to statelessness. 

• Global Alliance membership is open to states, intergovernmental and regional organisations, inter-parliamentary unions, UN agencies, donors and private sector, faith-based groups, stateless-led organisations, NGOs and academia.

• Launched in October 2024, the Global Alliance was shaped through a multistakeholder Taskforce to build on and carry forward the momentum of the #IBelong Campaign (2014-2024). 

• The work of the Global Alliance is part of the UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda” and is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The Global Alliance commits to supporting the implementation of the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2.0 as a global framework to guide collaborative efforts through joined up action and shared solutions. 

What is the Global Alliance to End Statelessness?

The Global Alliance to End Statelessness is a UNHCR-hosted multistakeholder platform that aims to secure “a world free from statelessness, where everyone enjoys the right to a nationality without discrimination”. It works toward this goal by convening key stakeholders to strengthen joint advocacy efforts, capacitating its members by providing a platform for peer-learning and the exchange of best practices, catalysing political commitments needed to uphold the rights of stateless people and accelerating the implementation of concrete solutions. 

The Global Alliance embraces a “whole of society” approach to ending statelessness. As a multistakeholder initiative, it brings together a diverse range of actors from across the globe, including stateless-led organisations, UN agencies, NGOs, faith-based groups, inter-parliamentary unions, academic institutions, states, and philanthropic foundations as well as regional, intergovernmental and other international organisations. 

Launched during the UNHCR Executive Committee’s “High-Level Segment on Statelessness” in Geneva on 14 October 2024, it seeks to capitalise on the momentum generated by the previous UNHCR #IBelong Campaign (2014-2024), which set an ambitious 10-year goal to eradicate statelessness worldwide. The work of the Global Alliance is part of the UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda” and aligns with the drive towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Alliance aims to be a more collaborative, inclusive and sustainable platform to address statelessness, that can keep the issue firmly on the UN and international community agenda, while moving toward an approach that centres the perspectives and expertise of stateless and formerly stateless people. 

Through its work, the Alliance seeks to position statelessness as a cross-mandate issue among UN entities, including the Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and promote greater awareness of the issue as pressing but ultimately solvable. The office of the UN Secretary-General has recognised the importance of tackling the causes and consequences of statelessness as “a key priority within the [the UN’s] broader efforts to strengthen the rule of law”, stating in its 2018 Guidance Note that “all UN entities system-wide must increase their efforts to address statelessness”.

The Global Alliance comprises a Secretariat, hosted by UNHCR, alongside an Advisory Committee and its membership. The Advisory Committee provides strategic guidance and advice to shape the Alliance’s strategies, priorities, workplan, and other initiatives. It is composed of up to 15 members representing States, stateless-led organisations, civil society, UN agencies and regional intergovernmental organisations, serving a three-year term and co-chaired by representatives from different stakeholder groups. Together they demonstrate a diversity of expertise and geographical distribution. Notably, stateless leadership is integrated into the Global Alliance’s governance structure, with three of the Advisory Committee seats held by stateless-led organisations. As of October 2025, the wider Membership of the Alliance includes more than 150 committed members from all relevant stakeholder groups. Members who are states or intergovernmental organisations can also become Solutions Seekers. UNHCR will continue to support the Global Alliance in its role as Secretariat. 

Background to the Global Alliance 

Plans for the Global Alliance were first developed by UNHCR following the findings of the 2021 Evaluation of UNHCR-Led Initiatives to End Statelessness which examined UNHCR’s work from the period 2001 to 2019. The Evaluation put particular focus on evaluating the first five years of UNCHR’s IBelong Campaign, which was based around a framework of 10 ‘actions’ that formed a Global Action Plan to End Statelessness. The Evaluation concluded that UNHCR had been successful in implementing initiatives to address the legal and administrative causes of statelessness as well as mobilising a wide range of stakeholders at different levels. However, it also found that there was a lack of shared responsibility and UNHCR had scope to do more to address political, social, and economic drivers of statelessness, harness collective mobilisation, in particular of stateless people, and maximise the potential of UN system-wide collaboration. 

The Evaluation found that “political will, awareness of statelessness, and strong partnerships across governments, civil society and other organisations” are the most important influencing factors for states’ progress on statelessness. It recommended that UNHCR shift from “fragmented bilaterial partnerships towards building a lasting multi-stakeholder coalition to end statelessness” to carry on the statelessness work following the conclusion of the IBelong Campaign in 2024. It was from this recommendation that the Global Alliance was first conceived, before being further developed by UNHCR and a multistakeholder Taskforce that operated from 2022 until the inaugural Advisory Committee was selected in September 2024. 

Key Objectives and Programmes of the Global Alliance

The Global Alliance has set out a rights-based, non-discriminatory, collaborative and solutions-focused approach to ending statelessness. It seeks to bring statelessness higher on the international community’s agenda, foster collective advocacy to secure political will, and transform pledges into concrete action and results at the country level. TheAlliance aims to accelerate the implementation of States’ pledges on statelessness, advance permanent solutions, strengthen  the protection of the rights of stateless persons, and mobilise greater financial investment in collaborative efforts. It also works enhance engagement with stateless-led organisations and to build and reinforce regional networks – among both civil society and intergovernmental actors - to drive region-focused solutions. 

To drive progress towards its objectives, the Global Alliance has developed a number of workstreams, that are being launched in a phased manner. The Solutions Seekers Programme is a cornerstone initiative that supports and champions states and intergovernmental organisations in expediting the implementation of their pledges. To become a Solutions Seeker a state must be a member of the Global Alliance, hold an active pledge to address statelessness, or submit a new pledge. In addition, they must have a taskforce or focal point at the senior technical level of the Ministry relevant to their pledge, and have a pledge implementation and/or National Action Plan, or establish one within 12 months of joining the Programme. Solutions Seekers benefit from increased visibility as global leaders in the fight to solve statelessness as well as support for pledge implementation through tools such as a Diagnostic Checklist, Stakeholder Consultation Guide, and Pledge Implementation Plan Template. Costa Rica, the Philippines, Côte d’Ivoire, the Council of Europe, the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Civil Registry (CLARCIEV), and the Organization of American States have joined as dedicated Solution Seekers, demonstrating their commitment to tackling statelessness. 

Thematic Working Groups and Network Labs provide opportunities for knowledge-sharing and coordination of strategies and collective action along regional and thematic lines. In February 2025, The Global Alliance held its first Townhall meeting introducing the inaugural Thematic Working Groups (TWG) on ending childhood statelessness, addressing discrimination in nationality laws and policies, and protecting the rights of stateless persons. Each TWG is open to all Global Alliance members, co-chaired by representatives from different stakeholder groups and regions. TWGs areas are reviewed every three years to identify recurring and new priorities. 

In May 2025, the Global Alliance held its first Inter-Regional Network Lab, bringing together 11 regional intergovernmental organisations to exchange knowledge and foster cross-regional collaboration on advancing solutions to statelessness. These are set to be recurring modalities for engaging Global Alliance members and wider stakeholders as the work progresses.

Additional workstreams include a Knowledge Hub, featuring interactive dashboards and a repository of resources and tools,  and the Online Marketplace digital platform serving as a repository of collaborative project proposals from Alliance members working to advance the Alliance’s vision. It seeks to connect donors interested in supporting statelessness work with impactful initiatives, providing a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ where donors can quickly assess project snapshots for potential funding, thereby, attracting additional support for this area of work.

The Forum on Statelessness, to be convened by the Global Alliance every four years in advance of the Global Refugee Forum, aims to generate new pledges, collective action and build membership.

This page was reviewed by Marin Roman, Coordinator of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness Secretariat, UNHCR Division of International Protection.

Last updated: October 2025