Coalition Building

NFA plays varied roles in the formation of four different coalitions on statelessness and nationality rights.

In the last three years, NFA has undertaken an extensive exercise of conducting a mapping of stakeholders and holding consultations with them to identify the methods and approaches to attain this aim. UNHCR Regional Bureau Asia Pacific and NFA conducted a regional consultation with civil society organizations (CSOs) working on statelessness and the right to nationality in April 2022 and asked the participants to fill out a survey. NFA decided to facilitate the creation and then coordinate the operation of a regional coalition on statelessness.

In order to undertake the formation of the regional coalition, NFA undertook a risk assessment process. As part of this, NFA created an Advisory Group for the formation process comprising the following experts, and had bilateral consultations.

Based on the interest expressed by participants of the 2022 Asia Pacific Regional Consultations in the post-event survey and the subsequent bilateral meetings with NFA, NFA short-listed around 20 CSOs as potential members of the regional coalition and conducted the CSO Consultations on forming the regional coalition in Bangkok on November 2 and 3, 2022 which was also attended by the Advisory Group members.

On May 4 and 5, 2023, NFA organised a CSO Consultation in Kathmandu, Nepal to form a Regional Coalition on Statelessness in the Asia Pacific. This consultation was the most helpful in deciding the principles and values for the coalition

These groups conducted separate discussions on their specific activities and also convened for a general meeting of all the CSO members of the coalition. The Name Values and Principle Group (NVPWG) held virtual meetings on May 25 and July 19, 2023. As of January 15, 2024, there have been three general meetings of the Regional Coalition. During the second general meeting, The Regional Coalition on Statelessness formally adopted the name “Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition (SDCC) – Asia Pacific.” It was also decided in the Second General Meeting that NFA will be holding the secretariat position of SDCC – AP for the first tenure of the Coalition.

The Concept Paper on the Structure of SDCC was discussed and decided upon in the general meeting on January 29, 2024. In the same meeting, deliberations were held regarding the nomination process for the Steering Committee, which would be composed of 7 members; including 2 members with lived experience. It was agreed that the nomination would be conducted online. The nomination form was disseminated on February 1, 2024. Following the conclusion of the nomination period, the inaugural steering committee of the SDCC was decided on February 15, 2024. The members of the steering committee are:

NFA is a member of the Interim Core Group (ICG) of the Global Movement Against Statelessness. Within the Movement, NFA is a member of the Solidarity and Action Working Group (SAWG). For the past two years, NFA has been working with the ICG and Advisory Committee (AC) members to form this global community of Civil Society Actors working on statelessness. NFA also helped organize the first in-person meeting of the ICG in Nepal in April 2023

NFA is a member of the Taskforce of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness. The Global Alliance to End Statelessness in a new initiative that by 2030 seeks to accelerate solutions to statelessness through a collective multistakeholder approach, which centres and respects the experience of those who are stateless and formerly stateless.

NFA is a member of the Capacity Building Working Group of GCENR. As a member of this group, NFA participated in the Global Summit on Gender Equal Nationality Rights in Geneva, in 2023 and has been trying to create a virtual safe space for affected persons.