This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley - to whom the lines can be attributed - at the press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The Colombian government has taken a major step forward in the fight against statelessness, guaranteeing that children born to Venezuelan parents in the country can acquire Colombian nationality.
The measure, which was announced on Monday (06), should benefit the 24,000 children born to Venezuelan parents in Colombia since August 2015, many of whom are at risk of statelessness or are stateless. The action will also prevent the children from becoming stateless in the future.
Until now, a child born in Colombia could only acquire Colombian nationality if at least one of the parents was Colombian or, in the case of foreign parents, if they were legally domiciled in the country at the time of the child's birth. Many of the approximately 1.4 million Venezuelans who have fled their country and are currently in Colombia may not meet this requirement.
The options for children born to Venezuelan parents in Colombia to acquire Venezuelan nationality are also very limited at the moment. Many Venezuelan families would have difficulty obtaining the necessary documentation or registering the child at a Venezuelan consulate in Colombia, as these services are not currently available.
With this exceptional and temporary administrative measure, which will be valid for two years, the Colombian authorities will change the current birth registration system, including documentary proof of Colombian nationality for children of Venezuelan parents.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF, will financially support the Colombian government in implementing this measure, in order to provide these children with documents to prove their nationality.
Stateless people can face a lifetime of exclusion and discrimination, often being denied access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Colombia's decision is a highly positive move for these children and their families.
Around the world, statelessness affects millions of people, leaving them without the basic rights and official recognition that most of us have. Around 3.9 million stateless people appear in the reports of 78 countries, but the UNHCR believes that the true total is significantly higher.
The UNHCR is halfway through a 10-year global campaign to end statelessness and will hold a high-level meeting in October in Geneva to assess achievements so far, including this action by the Colombian government, and to encourage concrete commitments from states and other partners on this issue.