Old Assembly Chamber, Parliament of South Africa, Cape Town
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are organising a conference on Ensuring Everyone’s Right to Nationality: The Role of Parliaments in Preventing and Ending Statelessness.
The conference will take place at Parliament in Cape Town on 26 and 27 November and about 150 delegates and observers are expected to attend.
Statelessness, or the absence of nationality, is a problem affecting at least 10 million people globally. There is no region on the planet that does not host stateless persons. In addition to the indignity of being without nationality, stateless persons are often denied basic rights, such as access to education and health care. While statelessness is a serious problem, it is one which can be resolved and parliamentarians can play a vital role in achieving law reforms to prevent, reduce and, ultimately, end statelessness worldwide.
The conference will aim to increase awareness about statelessness and consider ways that parliamentarians can contribute to preventing and resolving it to the benefit of individuals, communities, nation-states and the international community as a whole. It will also aim to identify parliamentary strategies that could help to support the UNHCR’s Campaign to End Statelessness within 10 years and its 10-point Global Action Plan.
Media wishing to attend the conference must complete the attached accreditation form and send it and a passport-sized photo (jpeg) to Estelle Randall at erandall@parliament.gov.za (021 403 8195 or 071 689 9992) and Masego Dlula at mdlula@parliament.gov.za (021 403 8141 or 073 696 9387) by 18.00 on Monday, 23 November. Media who have Parliamentary media access permits do not have to complete the accreditation form but should also RSVP by 18.00 on Monday, 23 November.
Media wishing to broadcast from the Parliamentary precinct must also provide:
Make of vehicle(s) and registration details
Clearance certificates from service providers for temporary structures and a list of other equipment
Media Accreditation Form
The draft provisional conference programme is available at http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/captown15/agenda.pdf
SOURCE: SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICIAL NEWS