JUBA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Wednesday welcomed South Sudan's accession to two key treaties aimed at eradicating statelessness.
On Tuesday, South Sudan acceded to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness -- two UN conventions designed to prevent the occurrence of statelessness.
"By acceding to these key international instruments, South Sudan is sending a clear signal of its dedication to addressing statelessness and protecting vulnerable individuals," UNHCR's Representative in South Sudan Marie-Helene Verney said in a statement.
The 1954 Convention regulates the status of stateless people and ensures their access to fundamental rights. The 1961 Convention offers carefully detailed safeguards to prevent statelessness from birth and later in life that should be implemented through a state's nationality law.
The UNHCR, which is mandated by the international community to prevent and resolve statelessness, launched the 10-year #IBelong Campaign to encourage states to take action on the issue.
It said since the campaign's inception in November 2014, and following the recent launch of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness in October, political will and momentum to address statelessness in South Sudan have been growing.
The UNHCR has supported capacity-building for the immigration department under the Ministry of Interior, enhancing civil documentation procedures, including access for vulnerable groups to nationality documents, and advocating for improved legal frameworks to address statelessness in South Sudan.
Since 2012, the UNHCR and the ministry have helped more than 150,000 individuals at risk of statelessness in South Sudan obtain nationality certificates. ■