Treaty Event 2011

The United Nations hosts an annual treaty event to encourage States to show their commitment to the "central role of the rule of law at the international and national levels" by ratifying or acceding to the multilateral treaties that are deposited with the Secretary-General. And as 2011 "marks the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, this year's Treaty Event is highlighting the challenges of forced displacement and statelessness." Here is more information about the 2011 event and the highlighted treaties.

In response, three countries answered the call to adopt international standards relating to statelessness: Croatia and Nigeria acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and Nigeria and the Philippines acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The Philippines is the first Southeast Asian country to take this step.

Other countries will have additional opportunities to follow suit: The UN Treaty Event continues 26-27 September 2011 and UNHCR will host a ministerial-level meeting 7-8 December 2011 to promote accessions to both the refugee and statelessness conventions.

[Photo credit: The Philippines at the Treaty Event; source: Photographs of Treaty Actions]

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