Protection policy and law

Global needs in 2024

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol provide the foundation for international protection and solutions and the access to basic services and rights. 149 of the 193 UN Member States are party to the Convention, the Protocol, or both. But refugees often face legal or practical obstacles, and 65 States maintain reservations, mostly limiting the rights of refugees in areas such as work and freedom of movement. Similar challenges arise in countries not party to the conventions, often leaving people seeking safety without a legal basis for accessing their rights.

Ensuring the right to a nationality depends on an appropriate legal framework and its effective implementation. The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are the cornerstones of the international legal framework on the protection of stateless people and the right to a nationality. In 2023, 97 countries are party to the 1954 Convention and 79 are party to the 1961 Convention. Many countries have improved their legislation to prevent statelessness and protect stateless people, and some have taken significant steps to grant nationality to stateless people, but further efforts are needed to prevent statelessness and find solutions. Tackling statelessness is one of UNHCR’s areas of focus for the coming years.

It is essential that States sign up to international legal instruments and implement inclusive policies that contribute to the protection and solutions of displaced and stateless populations. Amid complex humanitarian crises, increased population movements and restrictive policies and practices, UNHCR is perennially underfunded, undermining its ability to perform its mandated responsibility. As States neighbouring countries in crisis shoulder the greatest burden in terms of supporting displaced people, it is essential that other States show solidarity by taking on their own share of the responsibility and ensuring that people can exercise their rights and find durable solutions to their situations of displacement or statelessness.