Advocacy
EANN leverages its membership footprint to drive collaborative efforts for policy and institutional change on statelessness at both national and regional levels. Collaboration brings together civil society, thought and opinion leaders, private sector actors, local and national governments, regional bodies, and UN agencies to ensure inclusive nationality policies and processes. EANN’s advocacy supports progressive improvements and alternative pathways to eradicate statelessness across the Eastern Africa region.
Advocacy Priorities
EANN advances collective advocacy action across the region through the following priority areas:
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1
Support the development and adoption of the draft African Union (AU) Protocol on the Right to Nationality.
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2
Leverage existing regional bodies (including the ICGLR, EAC, and others) to promote awareness, commitments, and concrete action on statelessness at both regional and national levels.
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3
Campaign for the ratification and domestication of international statelessness conventions and relevant regional protocols.
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4
Advocate for legal and policy reforms that promote universal, non-discriminatory access to birth registration and equal access to nationality documentation.
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5
Promote the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data on stateless populations and populations at risk, including community-generated data.
Visibility & Awareness Raising
The objectives of EANN—from reinforcing solidarity among civil society actors working on statelessness to increasing awareness of statelessness across the Eastern Africa region—require sustained and dedicated visibility and communications efforts.
Strong visibility is also essential to grow EANN’s membership and ensure the inclusion of all interested actors across the region, particularly during this initial phase of the network.
Visibility Priorities
During the Roadmap period, EANN members undertake several key visibility initiatives in support of the network’s objectives. Priority areas for visibility efforts include:
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1
Strengthening EANN’s online presence to improve reach, engagement, and access to information.
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2
Producing a quarterly publication to share updates, learning, and advocacy across the region.
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3
Connecting EANN’s activities to key moments of the #iBelong Campaign to amplify impact.
Cross-learning & Capacity Building
EANN builds the capacity of civil society organisations, stateless-led organisations, persons with lived experience of statelessness, and other stakeholders across the region to prevent statelessness and strengthen the enjoyment of human rights for stateless persons. Through structured cross-learning and capacity-building initiatives, EANN promotes shared knowledge, collaboration, and coordinated action at both national and regional levels.
Capacity Building Priorities
Developing and applying a Theory of Change on statelessness.
Strengthening understanding of citizenship rights in the Eastern Africa region.
Enhancing knowledge of national and regional legal frameworks and human rights instruments on nationality and statelessness in Africa.
Building effective global and regional advocacy strategies, including engagement with the African Commission and United Nations (UN) mechanisms.
Advancing legal empowerment approaches and movement-building tactics to support community-driven change.
Strengthening fundraising skills and resource mobilisation strategies.
Improving the collection and use of qualitative and quantitative data on statelessness.