were brought from South India to work in the plantations during the British colonial period in 1820s, and most of them are of oppressed caste background.  After independence 1948, Statelessness emerged in 2 ways : 1) Discrimination based on Law & Descent 2) Political marginalization of the minorities.  Citizenship Act No 18 of 1948, gave birth to statelessness of 975,000 5 Indian Origin Plantation Tamils in Sri Lanka. Statelessness produced a number of issues among the minorities / Plantation Tamils, namely:       Politically they were marginalized and discriminated. They were stripped of their right to vote. Right to basic documents (such as NIC, birth certificate,…) was denied. Right to land and housing was denied. They remained a lot with their right to free movement curtailed. This situation resulted in their economic rights being denied. Actions of the Successive Governments of Sri Lanka6.     1949 – Registration of Indian and Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act No 03 of 1949 1964 – Srima - Sasthiri Pact 1974 – Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement 1986 - Sri Lankan Government decided to grant citizenship However, the problem had continued unmitigated for over 50 years. Pro-Active initiations / Good Practices The discriminatory practices were questioned by the CSOs and the Trade Unions since the issue was arose. The successive governments of Sri Lanka attempted to resolve the problem of around 265,000 stateless persons in Sri Lanka since 2000. In 2003 – Citizenship Act No 35 of 2003 – solved the stateless problem7. Sri Lankan Governments’ efforts and interventions of the UN Agencies, CSOs and Trade Unions to resolve the problem were commendable both in terms of approach & outcome. The Government provided immediate citizenship to the stateless persons based on the new Act.  Followed a simplified procedure.  Through a General Declaration. 5 6 Sivapragasam PP (2011), (Brad k Blitz Edt.,), Statelessness and Citizenship, Edward ElgarPub., UK Nadesan S, (2009), History of Up-Country Tamils in Sri Lanka, Nandalal Pub., Hatton & Sivapragasam PP (2011), (Brad k Blitz Edt.,), Statelessness and Citizenship, Edward ElgarPub., UK 7 UNHCR (2004), Citizenship for All, The Campaign Against Statelessness in Sri Lanka, UNHCR Colombo Pub., 2