Statelessness and the problems arising therefrom were the focus of the Workshop on Statelessness in Sabah, held on 24thApril 2019. Facilitated by SUHAKAM, KOMNAS HAM and the Commission on Human Rights Philippines, it was intended to deepen comprehension of the issues of statelessness. GSB staff were among the 60 participants. The workshop also studied the government’s response to issues of statelessness and documentation as a response to human rights, and the role of regional actors in influencing and handling these issues. There are currently no statistics on the actual number of stateless persons in Sabah. This is further compounded by public perception that all stateless children are children of illegal immigrants; this can lead to misinterpretation of facts. The Workshop sessions also addressed the human rights obligation in tackling statelessness in Sabah, and cross-border initiatives to manage it.
