UNHCR applauds Turkmenistan for resolving statelessness

8 NOVEMBER 2024, ASHGABAT – Officials from 10 countries gathered in Ashgabat today for a ministerial conference to end statelessness in Central Asia and to celebrate the region’s achievements toward that goal.

Titled Ending Statelessness in Central Asia Ministerial Conference, the Ashgabat event was convened by the Government of Turkmenistan and UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, with participants from the Governments of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as UN agencies, and international organizations.

Central Asia leads the world on the issue with the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan being the only two countries to have resolved all known cases of statelessness.

Turkmenistan detailed its efforts to achieve this and urged others to join them in ensuring that people everywhere have a nationality. Steps taken included introducing a law on Civil Status Acts to ensure universal birth registration, adopting a National Action Plan to end statelessness, and establishing a detailed Statelessness Determination Procedure.

Citizenship documents were presented to the remaining 1,146 stateless people at a ceremony in Ashgabat on 25 September this year, completing the process of resolving all known cases in the country.

Turkmenistan has the additional distinction of having acceded to both the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, instruments which offer a shared foundation to prevent statelessness and protect stateless persons worldwide.

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, congratulated Turkmenistan. “We commend Turkmenistan on resolving all known cases of statelessness and its ongoing commitment to ensure no one is left behind in its sustainable development,” she said. “States in the region have made significant progress over the last decade, with one in every three cases of statelessness resolved worldwide being in Central Asia. It is possible that Central Asia could become the first sub-region in the world to resolve all cases of statelessness.”

Millions of people around the world are denied a nationality, without which they cannot fully access their human rights and participate in society. As only States can grant or confirm nationality, the cooperation of governments in preventing and reducing statelessness is crucial.

The achievements of Central Asian States represent intergenerational solutions for whole communities. Instead of being born into the condition of statelessness, each successive generation will now acquire nationality by descent from those who were granted citizenship, improving inclusion and opportunity for thousands of people.

As of November, over 30,000 people remain stateless in Central Asia, signaling the need for continued and concerted efforts and commitment. Most stateless people in Central Asia are ex-citizens of the former Soviet Union, or their descendants, who have not yet acquired or confirmed citizenship of the independent States.

Building on the concrete gains and momentum of the #IBelong campaign, efforts and commitments to address statelessness will continue under the new Global Alliance to End Statelessness, launched by UNHCR on 14 October.

Turkmenistan has shown international leadership on this front too, becoming the first country in Central Asia to join the new Alliance.

Global Alliance to End Statelessness

In 2014, UNHCR launched the 10-year #IBelong Campaign to end statelessness, to catalyse commitment, action and solidarity to eradicate statelessness. Over the past 10 years, the campaign has made significant progress in preventing and reducing statelessness through the combined efforts of States, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, academic institutions, and regional and stateless-led organizations. As the #IBelong Campaign ends, UNHCR launched the Global Alliance to End Statelessness on 14 October 2024.

The Global Alliance to End Statelessness is a collaborative multi-stakeholder platform. Its vision is for “a world free from statelessness where everyone enjoys the right to a nationality without discrimination.” The Alliance brings together States, stateless-led organizations, UN agencies, civil society organizations and regional intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary organizations to facilitate joint action to end statelessness and to protect the rights of stateless persons. It seeks to provide a platform for learning, exchange and collaboration. The Global Alliance will catalyse and accelerate change by identifying and responding to gaps in laws, policies and practice, and building the political commitment needed to eradicate statelessness and uphold the rights of stateless people.

For more information please contact:

• In Bangkok, Tiy Chung, chung@unhcr.org
• In Almaty, Aiya Siyaz, siyaz@unhcr.org
• In Almaty, Mariko Hall, hallma@unhcr.org