During the annual Executive Committee meeting of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Geneva on Monday, 14 October, a new global initiative, the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, was formally launched. The initiative builds on the successes of the #iBelong initiative and the decade-long progress towards ending statelessness. During the meeting, over 30 countries announced their intention to join as members or support the Global Alliance’s work. 

The Chairman of the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan handed over a note on Turkmenistan’s accession to the Global Alliance to End Statelessness to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday, 16 October. The UN praised the efforts of the leadership of Turkmenistan to eradicate known cases of statelessness. In September, Turkmenistan granted citizenship to more than 1,000 stateless persons, fulfilling its obligations under the UN #IBelong campaign, making Turkmenistan one of the first countries to successfully achieve the program's goals.

Read more on the launch of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness here.

Read more on Turkmenistan joining the Global Alliance to End Statelessness here.