NAIROBI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, on Friday commended the Kenyan government for granting full citizenship to the Pemba community, aiding efforts to eliminate statelessness.

President William Ruto issued identification cards, birth certificates and passports to members of the Pemba community, granting them citizenship rights while he was on a tour of Kenya's southeastern coastal county of Kilifi.

"This effectively ends the Pemba community's statelessness and marginalization that has lasted for close to 100 years," Ruto said, adding that he was committed to upholding the rights of all citizens in line with local and international conventions.

Upon being granted citizenship, the 7,000 members of the Pemba community, whose ancestors migrated from the Indian Ocean Island of Pemba and settled on the Kenyan coast decades ago will be able to access critical services like education, healthcare, social protection, financial services and formal employment, noted the UNHCR.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that by granting citizenship to the Pemba community, Kenya demonstrated exemplary leadership and inspired the community of nations to root ot statelessness.

"It is a great example of how states can put an end to statelessness and open the way for people caught up in this dreadful situation to come out of the shadows and participate fully in society," Grandi said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Kenya has taken giant steps to eradicate statelessness by granting citizenship to Makonde and Shona people who migrated from Mozambique and Zimbabwe respectively.

The UNHCR and partners have been providing technical and operational support to boost Kenya's efforts to tackle statelessness through civil documentation. Enditem

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