Global Alliance Hosts Second Townhall

On 23 September 2025, the Global Alliance to End Statelessness held its second Townhall Meeting, bringing together over 80 participants from across the Alliance’s diverse membership – including States, regional and international organizations, civil society and stateless-led groups, and academia. The Townhall provided a space for members to connect, exchange updates, and explore new initiatives advancing the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2.0.

Melvin Suarez, Chair of the Global Alliance Advisory Committee and State Counsel at the Department of Justice of the Philippines, opened the meeting with a keynote address, urging members to play an active role in shaping the Alliance’s Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) and to keep statelessness prominently on global agendas.

Members then heard updates from the three TWGs on:

• Protecting the Rights of Stateless Persons announced its annual theme on the right to education and upcoming initiatives including a webinar on 4 December.
• Addressing Discrimination in Nationality Laws and Practices shared advocacy efforts on gender-equal nationality rights and plans for testimonies and reform spotlights.
• Ending Childhood Statelessness reported on engagements with UN treaty bodies and upcoming webinars to drive action on every child’s right to a nationality.

The meeting also spotlighted the first Inter-Regional Network Lab, co-organized with the Council of Europe, CLARCIEV and Organization of American States, which convened regional intergovernmental organizations and civil society networks to exchange on solutions to root causes of statelessness.

A major highlight was the launch of the Online Marketplace – a digital platform connecting grassroots, stateless-led and civil society initiatives with potential donors. The pilot phase supported 6 regional civil society networks such as Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP) and the East African Nationality Network (EANN), helping them strengthen collective efforts and advocacy capacity. The first open call for project snapshots will be launched in October 2025.

The Townhall concluded with an open floor for member updates. Highlights included Malaysia’s historic constitutional amendment granting mothers equal rights to confer nationality – shared by Family Frontiers — and new resources such as the third edition of the Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific, presented by Nationality for All.

The Global Alliance members were encouraged to continue collective efforts and collaboration ahead of GRF Progress Review and the Global Alliance Annual Meeting in December.

The Townhall recording can be found  here (accessible for members of the Global Alliance).