UNHCR Vienna Office: "Everyone has the right to citizenship"

PeopleOther ♦ Published: September 2, 2021; 17:20 ♦ (Vindobona)

The international community celebrated the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. On the anniversary, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that "everyone has the right to citizenship." UNHCR also warned about the many dangers stateless people face, including lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines, lack of economic relief from a government, and much more.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi: "Having a nationality and the protection of a government that nationality affords can make a life-saving difference." (Picture: UNHCR Headquarters Geneva) / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

The international community recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. On this anniversary, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, emphasized that “everyone has the right to citizenship” and ensuring the right to a nationality and eliminating statelessness is achievable and more pressing than ever. …