Reference:
https://www.refworld.org/policy/strategy/unhcr/2024/en/148761
Online Marketplace Project Snapshot
Restoring Belonging: Community-Led Action to End Documentation Exclusion in Kokrajhar District
Asia
Restoring Belonging: Community-Led Action to End Documentation Exclusion in Kokrajhar District
CENTRE FOR RELIEF AND REHABILITATION, CRR
36,000 USD
More than 12 months
• Advancing legal identity documentation • Strengthening community-based protection mechanisms
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions • SDG 5: Gender Equality • SDG 4: Quality Education
- Action 1: Resolve major situations of statelessness
- Action 4: Prevent denial, loss, or deprivation of nationality on ethnic, racial, religious, political, and other discriminatory grounds
- Action 7: Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness
- Action 8: Issue nationality documentation to those with entitlement to it to prevent statelessness
- Action 10: Improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations
- Action 11: Ensure stateless persons can enjoy their rights
Families in Kokrajhar district, Assam face persistent challenges with documentation and nationality verification. Historical displacement, river erosion, gaps in NRC legacy data, and bureaucratic scrutiny place many at risk of being labeled D-Voters or referred to Foreigners’ Tribunals, resulting in loss of access to food security schemes, healthcare, education, pensions, and voting rights. Fear of identity questioning creates psychological stress, restricts mobility, and erodes trust with the state, with women and youth disproportionately affected. Limited legal support and unclear administrative processes further entrench exclusion and vulnerability.
The project seeks to restore access to identity documents, citizenship rights, and public entitlements for marginalized families through village-based Legal & Documentation Support Help Desks providing individual assistance. It will train youth as Rights Facilitators and support women’s groups to engage in public hearings, enabling families to secure documentation, reduce fear, and confidently interact with state systems. Over time, this will strengthen community leadership and build sustainable local advocacy networks.
• Centre for Relief and Rehabilitation (CRR) – Lead organization • Local Panchayats – Governance linkages • District Legal Services Authority – Legal awareness and support • Community youth and women’s collectives – Advocacy and leadership
Families facing documentation and nationality verification challenges
Local governance institutions, youth volunteers, women’s SHGs
36,000 USD
36,000 USD
Why this project needs your support
Members of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness are driving innovative projects around the world, and we invite you to be part of this vital work. This snapshot gives you a brief look at one such initiative that needs your support. By contributing to projects like this, you can help create lasting change, uplift communities, and restore dignity to millions of people. Your involvement is crucial – together, we can turn the tide and build a future where statelessness is a thing of the past.
How to support
To support this initiative, please contact the Global Alliance Secretariat at stalliance@unhcr.org.
Together, we can turn the tide against statelessness and create a world where everyone enjoys their right to a nationality, and can fully contribute to society.
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