Nationality For All with 104 organisations from around the world have signed a joint statement endorsing a call to make the UN an inclusive place of employment for one of the world’s largest, yet most overlooked and vulnerable, populations. We are releasing this joint statement today to mark the two-year anniversary of UNHCR confirming that it had removed this barrier within its own recruitment system.
This breakthrough removed a consequential employment barrier for stateless people applying for vacancies at the UN agency. By introducing “stateless” as a nationality-status option, UNHCR made it possible for stateless applicants to apply without being forced to select a nationality they do not possess, helping to open its recruitment system to stateless people on equitable terms. Crucially, the change was accompanied by guiding UNHCR’s HR and legal teams to appropriately and competently process stateless applicants, addressing not only the application form itself, but also the institutional procedures behind it.
Over the past two years, despite countless hours of advocacy encouraging other UN agencies to adopt this good practice, recognise the existence of stateless people, and remove unwarranted barriers to their employment, we are yet to see any notable progress. There is no legal basis for excluding stateless people from exercising their economic rights or from employment within the UN system. On the contrary, existing regulations safeguard equal opportunity in employment and protect against discrimination on grounds of nationality and origin. We are therefore redoubling our efforts to make the UN an inclusive employment space for stateless individuals.
The responsibility now lies with all UN agencies to replicate UNHCR’s good
practice. We would like to highlight the following reasons why this is
important:
- Equal rights must be upheld. Stateless persons are entitled to the
same rights as all individuals, including the right to equality of
opportunity and employment. - The UN’s credibility depends on consistency between its values and
its internal practices. The organisation cannot effectively champion
inclusion, equality, and the commitment to “leave no one behind” if
its own systems inadvertently perpetuate exclusion. - The solutions are available. The introduction of a simple “Stateless”
nationality option, paired with clear internal guidance, removed
barriers to stateless persons without creating new complications in
the UNHCR careers system.
