A photo exhibition highlighting local and global efforts to address the issue of statelessness opens today at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, global campaign to end statelessness.
Launched in November 2014, the #IBelong Campaign aims to end statelessness within 10 years, by identifying and protecting stateless people, resolving existing situations of statelessness and preventing the emergence of new cases.
Following today’s opening event co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNHCR, the “WE BELONG: Global Faces of Statelessness” photo exhibition will be open to the public at no charge during 24-29 November 2020 at the Curved Wall, 5th Floor, BACC.
“The achievements from Thailand and elsewhere documented in this exhibition demonstrate that ending statelessness can be done – but with millions still stateless globally, these efforts must be accelerated and expanded,” said Mr. Giuseppe De Vincentiis, UNHCR’s Representative in Thailand.
“The Royal Thai Government and people of Thailand have demonstrated strong commitment in taking action to prevent and reduce statelessness and protect the rights of stateless persons. Thailand has been a regional leader and has demonstrated strong commitment, endorsing UNHCR’s ambitious #IBelong Campaign, and UNHCR believes that the Government’s leadership with the support of Thai civil society will continue to be critical to move this issue forward.”
Following important reforms to Thailand’s nationality and civil registration laws, and the adoption of a progressive nationality strategy to address statelessness, over 100,000 registered stateless persons have acquired Thai nationality since 2008. The Royal Thai Government also made pledges to take further action to reduce statelessness at the global High-Level Segment on Statelessness in Geneva in October 2019.
