A/HRC/7/23 page 22 welcomes the commitment of States to addressing the issues concerned, as evidenced by the substantial number of replies received in response to a questionnaire regarding States’ treatment of citizenship issues. 72. UNHCR is comprehensively implementing its statelessness mandate globally, as required by the General Assembly, to ensure progress in identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of affected persons.29 It has expressed its willingness to support the work of the independent expert in recognizing that minorities who are denied or deprived of citizenship constitute a significant constituency of affected persons. As an example, UNHCR is undertaking work with the Government of Viet Nam on the naturalization of former Cambodian refugees who are now stateless. Moreover, in November 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees jointly expressed their determination to address statelessness resolutely. 73. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working with partners to implement key provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child related to citizenship issues. The UNICEF child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse programme focuses on the centrality of birth registration as a means to ensure that all children have access to, inter alia, a legal identity and therefore all other rights. Other United Nations agencies that are engaged in working on citizenship issues include the United Nations Population Fund with regard to census and documentation through civil registries. UNDP is working with UNHCR on issues relating to social and economic inclusion of stateless populations through poverty reduction programmes and the rule of law and directly with the independent expert to enhance its consideration of minority issues across its key focus areas. 74. During the Geneva expert consultation, the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities noted the centrality to his conflict-prevention mandate of citizenship issues in Europe, particularly as they affect minority groups. While recognizing that much work remains, particularly with regard to discriminatory and exclusionary policies practised including Roma and others, he emphasized the notable efforts and considerable success of his office in working with States to improve citizenship legislation in Europe and to ensure a more balanced and successful integration of groups into their respective societies. Work has also been carried out with concerned minority groups directly, including Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia and Latvia and Crimean Tartars. 75. Until recently, few non-governmental organizations had addressed citizenship issues in their human rights concerns. However, as problems in this field have grown and been increasingly recognized, civil society initiatives have increased to engage in monitoring, reporting, advocating and litigating to solve problems in denial or deprivation of citizenship. This is the case in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Such civil society activities should be encouraged and supported by the international donor community. 29 Executive Committee Conclusion 106 on the Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons.