We caught up with Marin Roman, Senior Statelessness Officer at UNHCR, and Coordinator of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness Secretariat, to find out more about what the Global Alliance has been up to since launching in October 2024.
The Global Alliance to End Statelessness launched in October 2024, building on UNHCR’s #IBelong campaign, which concluded last year. What learnings are you taking from the campaign to ensure the success of this new multistakeholder coalition?
The #IBelong campaign played an instrumental role in putting statelessness on the global agenda and building the much-needed political momentum for addressing this injustice. Over ten years, it led to more than half a million stateless people gaining or confirming a nationality, a record number of states joining the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions, and important legal reforms to better protect stateless people and prevent new cases. Despite this progress, detailed in the report on the #IBelong Campaign: A Decade of Action to End Statelessness, 2014-2024, there is a general consensus that change simply isn’t happening fast enough for the millions who are still stateless.
The end of the campaign provides a moment to reflect on what works - and what needs to be done differently. One of the biggest learnings from the campaign was the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach. No organization or entity can end statelessness alone - it requires sustained engagement from governments alongside other key stakeholders. The Global Alliance to End Statelessness reflects this by creating a coalition where all these actors can work together for the first time to co-develop solutions, ensuring collective responsibility for progress. Another critical takeaway is that solutions must be shaped by those directly affected. The Global Alliance is committed to ensuring stateless people and their organizations have a central role in decision-making, not just as participants but as leaders.
Finally, the campaign showed that while global advocacy is crucial, real change happens at the national and regional levels. This is why the Global Alliance will focus on context-specific and multi-layered action.
The Global Alliance’s ultimate goal is to end statelessness. How will the Global Alliance work towards this goal and what, in your opinion, are the key challenges ahead?
Ending statelessness requires sustained political commitment and prioritization in an evolving global landscape marked by unprecedented crises and strained funding. It requires concrete actions by States to grant nationality to stateless persons and to enact safeguards that prevent new instances of statelessness. Resolving protracted situations of statelessness is the most challenging aspect and demands strategic, consistent engagement.
Currently, only half of all States are parties to the Statelessness Conventions, and 85% of reported stateless persons reside in just 10 countries where the situation has remained unchanged. Despite international obligations and numerous commitments, many countries still lack the legal safeguards necessary to prevent childhood statelessness. Discrimination, including gender-based discrimination, and gaps in nationality laws continue to be major barriers, perpetuating inequality and entrenching statelessness across generations.
These challenges are significant but not insurmountable. This is why the Global Alliance is so essential today. Created with the support of a multistakeholder Taskforce, the Alliance was designed from the outset to facilitate partnerships and provide targeted support to governments and other actors working on statelessness. Our vision is clear: a world free from statelessness, where everyone enjoys the right to a nationality without discrimination. Achieving this goal requires a three-pronged strategy: Convening all key stakeholders, including governments, civil society, stateless-led organizations, academia, UN agencies, and regional intergovernmental organizations, to foster collaborative action; Capacitating our members by providing a platform for learning, exchange, and collaboration; and Catalyzing and accelerating change by identifying and responding to gaps in laws, policies, and practice, and building the needed political commitment.
Are there any initiatives of the Global Alliance which you think will be particularly pivotal in bringing about progress?
One of the key initiatives of the Global Alliance is the Solution Seekers Programme, which identifies, engages, and supports “champion” States to facilitate strategic political dialogue, share experiences, mobilize affected communities, generate evidence, and identify opportunities for change. In particular, the programme is supporting the development or updating of National Action Plans with prioritized targets and strategies to drive progress. Costa Rica, the Philippines, the Council of Europe, the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Civil Registry (CLARCIEV), and the Organization of American States have already joined as dedicated Solution Seekers, demonstrating their commitment to tackling statelessness. More States, especially those with significant stateless populations, are encouraged to follow their lead.
In addition to national-level engagement, the Regional Network Labs (RNLs) bring together regional organizations, civil society networks, and other stakeholders to share best practices, foster innovation, and scale up solutions. These Labs ensure that progress in one region can inspire action elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) focus on critical areas requiring intensified action and focused global collaboration, offering experts and practitioners a space to exchange technical knowledge and strengthen advocacy and joint strategies.
Looking ahead, the Statelessness Forum, to be organized in 2027 in alignment with the Global Refugee Forum, will provide a key moment to assess progress, identify emerging challenges, and adjust the Global Alliance’s strategy and priorities to keep momentum towards ending statelessness.
At ENS, we know that while ending statelessness is possible, we cannot do it without the people affected by it. How does the Global Alliance ensure that stateless people themselves are included in decision-making and advocacy?
The Global Alliance ensures that stateless people are at the heart of decision-making and advocacy by working closely with stateless-led organizations. From the start, extensive consultations shaped the Alliance, with three stateless-led organizations on the external Task Force that guided the creation of the Alliance and the development of its foundational elements and workstreams.
The Alliance is also drawing on the experience of its members, such as ENS, which has been a leader in engaging affected communities. It is committed to leverage their expertise to strengthen meaningful participation and advocacy by stateless communities. Today, 16 stateless-led organizations are members of the Alliance, with three serving on its Advisory Committee (3 out of 15 members), directly influencing priorities and initiatives. Stateless-led groups also play key roles in Thematic Working Groups and Regional Network Labs, ensuring their voices drive solutions to end statelessness.
How can organisations join the Global Alliance and why should they get involved?
Joining the Global Alliance is a demonstration of commitment to global efforts on statelessness. By joining, you become part of a global multistakeholder coalition, with States and civil society, as well as other actors, having a seat at the same table. It’s an opportunity to engage in knowledge exchange and contribute to advocacy and solutions while connecting with partners, experts and donors.
Membership is open to governments, civil society, regional intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, academia, faith-based organizations and stateless-led groups, donors, and other key stakeholders. Governments and regional organizations can also become members of the Solution Seeker Programme. Those who wish to become members can complete an online application form on the Global Alliance website. They may also reach out to the Global Alliance Secretariat, hosted by UNHCR, at stalliance@unhcr.org, for additional information and guidance.
In these challenging times, what keeps you feeling hopeful?
These uncertain times affect us all, but the real impact falls hardest on the people and communities we work with and for.
What keeps me motivated is the growing momentum and collective energy within the Global Alliance - seeing 140 committed members come together to share experiences, brainstorm, and co-create solutions is proof that change isn’t just possible, it’s already happening. Our work isn’t just about fixing a legal issue; it’s about restoring dignity, fundamental rights, and belonging to the millions who remain stateless.
Now, more than ever, collaboration, efficiency, and strong coordination are essential. The Global Alliance provides a unique platform to navigate these challenges together, ensuring that our work doesn’t stall. Graham Bell once said - “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Let’s keep looking ahead - because even in difficult times, new opportunities continue to emerge.
