UN Participates in Event to Grant Citizenship to Stateless

The ceremony followed the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan signed on 24 September by which the citizenship of Turkmenistan was grated to 735 people.

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia Ms Natalya Gherman, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Ms. Elena Panova attended the event, along with representatives of national ministries, honorary elders, cadets of military universities and the media.

“Since 2011 in Turkmenistan more than 8,200 stateless persons obtained Turkmen citizenship. This is a significant achievement in the global campaign to end statelessness by 2024”, said UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Elena Panova. She stated that as new citizens they will be able to enjoy legal, political, economic and social rights.

Turkmenistan is the only country in Central Asia that ratified all four key UN conventions in the area of protection of refugees and stateless people: 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness. In April 2011, Turkmenistan was elected a permanent member of UNHCR’s Executive Committee, becoming the first country in Central Asia to joint this international body.