Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the UN and other International Organisations Geneva – Switzerland United Nations Human Rights Council Forum on Minority Issues Statelessness and Human Rights Mr. President, My Delegation commends the formation of this annual forum as a space for the exchange of good practices and challenges, with the focus on this occasion on the rights of stateless people, as a minority with its own needs and abilities. We are aware that, when human rights are not respected in their entirety, this group may be subjected to xenophobia, discrimination and marginalisation. This reality can give way to a culture of impunity in the face of rights violations, as well as fuelling anti-migrant sentiments, and contribute to the rise in physical and verbal abuse. In that regard, Ecuador has unveiled a series of initiatives to promote social inclusion under the same conditions and to prioritise the protection of rights of vulnerable groups, independent of their migratory status, with the objective of encouraging profound changes within sociocultural, political and economic patterns. Among other national advances, we highlight the 2017 Organic Law of Human Mobility, which builds upon an integral vision of guaranteeing the protection of stateless people and considers preventative measures for statelessness. Similarly, in January 2018, Ecuador issued a regulation for establishing a method of calculating the level of statelessness in the country. These tools contribute to the objectives of the “I belong” campaign, focussed on eradicating statelessness by 2024, and launched by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ecuador believes that all human beings have the right to nationality, and that those who do not exercise that right must receive appropriate protection. With regards to the proposal of an “International Day on Statelessness”, put forward by the Delegation from Brazil, we would like to express our support and invite other delegations so that we may combine our efforts in the drafting of this initiative, which we believe will help to raise awareness of a reality that has been ignored for many years. Thank you.