The U.S. embassy was pleased to participate in a ceremony wherein the Government of Mali delivered nearly 8,000 birth certificates to children born in Mali to Mauritanian refugees in a March 6 ceremony in the border region of Kayes.
The Government of Mali has taken an important step by granting birth certificates to these children who will no longer be at risk of being stateless. We salute the government of Mali’s leadership and example; Mali is paving the way for a just and durable solution to this protracted and regional problem.
We acknowledge the excellent work of UNHCR in Mali and commend the collaborative and effective working relationship between them and the Government of Mali.
We also commend the Government of Mali for announcing its intent to ratify the United Nations’ 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
For the U.S. Government, statelessness is an important issue. We are addressing the global problem of statelessness as part of our overarching commitment to champion human rights and dignity. As a demonstration of that commitment, we welcome more refugees that any other country in the world and in 2014 provided over one billion dollars to UNHCR to facilitate their excellent work with displaced populations.
