Friday, August 21st, 2015. BMG: Statelessness, defined as having no nationality, affects 10 million people worldwide and a child is born without a state every 10 minutes.
Being born without a nationality means that a person will be denied basic human rights such as the right to education and healthcare, so in an attempt to minimize the amount of victims, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a global campaign to eradicate the problem in 2014.
This campaign will run for 10 years, from 2014-2024 and has already gotten many countries to come aboard, the newest member being Belize as only the second member of CARICOM countries to join besides Jamaica.
Shelly Pitterman, Regional Representative of UNHCR said: “This decision, along with reactivating its Refugee Eligibility Committee earlier this year, are excellent signs that Belize is emerging as a regional champion on international protection.”
The Convention will officially enter into force for Belize on 12 November 2015.