Global Alliance Inter-Regional Network Lab

The first Global Alliance Inter-Regional Network Lab, “Regional Action, Global Impact: Leveraging Regional Approaches and the Role of Inter-Governmental Organizations in Addressing Statelessness,” was held online on 20 May 2025. Co-organized by UNHCR, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Council of Europe (CoE), and CLARCIEV, the half-day event convened over 57 representatives from regional inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) and civil society networks. It provided a platform for exchange, peer learning, and cross-regional collaboration, spotlighting the critical role of IGOs in fostering inclusive, coordinated, and regionally grounded action to address statelessness.

In their opening remarks, representatives emphasized the importance of regional legal frameworks, inclusive identity systems, and the need to center civil society and lived experiences. The first session aimed to highlight key regional legal and policy frameworks and upcoming priorities for 2025-2026. IGOs representatives from each region shared their organization’s progress, plans, and notable developments, including the African Union’s 2024 Protocol on the Right to Nationality, ECOWAS’s Banjul Plan of Action, the ICGLR’s regional strategy, and the Ashgabat Declaration in Asia. Upcoming initiatives include CLARCIEV’s 2025 CRVS Week, the Council of Europe’s revised recommendation on children’s nationality rights, and OAS’s relaunch of the Americas Network on Nationality and Statelessness.

Breakout sessions identified priority areas for action: centering stateless-led organizations, strengthening regional cooperation and peer learning, thematic and targeted approaches, capacity-building, and inclusive partnerships. Panelists from OSCE HCNM and Nationality for All emphasized the Global Alliance’s role in bridging states, civil society, and stateless communities, and framed statelessness as a matter of both human rights and peace and security.

A discussion followed on expanding Alliance membership and advancing concrete action. Participants underscored the leadership potential of regional IGOs, the value of peer recommendations and bilateral outreach, and the importance of sustained, inclusive engagement. The Lab reaffirmed that regional actors, when working together, can catalyze meaningful, localized solutions with global resonance.

The event concluded with a strong call to action: expand the Global Alliance and Solution Seekers Programme, invest in capacity-building, embed statelessness in broader human rights and development agendas, and center stateless-led organizations and people with lived experience in all regional and global responses to statelessness.

The Network Lab recording can be found here – Inter-Regional Network Lab: Leveraging Regional Approaches and the Role of Inter-governmental Organizations in addressing statelessness – Global Alliance to End Statelessness