Today, the “Eradicating Statelessness in Central Asia” regional ministerial conference was held in the capital’s Yyldyz Hotel. 

The forum, organized by the Government of Turkmenistan and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, was attended by representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as UN agencies and international organizations.

The main goal of this large-scale event is to summarize the results of the #IBelong global campaign in Central Asia.

As is known, this campaign was launched by UNHCR exactly ten years ago – in November 2014 – as an instrument of broad international cooperation to eliminate statelessness, which remains a pressing problem of our time, directly affecting millions of people around the world who are deprived of access to basic rights and official recognition.

The conference presented an expanded overview of the achievements of the countries of the Central Asian region, which occupy a leading position in solving this problem.

Turkmenistan, committed to the high ideals of humanism, principles of democratic development and a modern legal society, has become one of the countries in the world that has eradicated statelessness.

As a permanent member of the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), our country is a strategic participant in global processes, successfully implementing multifaceted work to solve this problem. The fruits of a successful partnership were dozens of implemented projects and programs that facilitated the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the practical solution of issues related to the situation of refugees and stateless persons, ensuring the protection of their fundamental rights.

As noted in the reports, from the first days of independence, Turkmenistan has carried out effective work to bring its legal system into line with the generally recognized norms of international law and improve national legislation.

Among the main international treaties and conventions on humanitarian issues that our country has acceded to are the UN Conventions “Relating to the Status of Refugees”, “Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons” and “On the Reduction of Statelessness”, which still serve as the basis for international legal efforts to respond to situations of statelessness. Today, their norms have been implemented in national legislation, namely, in the Laws “On Refugees”, “On Migration”, and “On Citizenship of Turkmenistan”, which has strengthened the legal basis of the country’s migration system. Thus, Turkmenistan has clearly demonstrated a strong commitment to its international obligations and a proactive approach to solving this humanitarian problem. An important step was also the adoption of the National Action Plan to Eradicate Statelessness in Turkmenistan by 2024, which included a number of specific measures to identify and register stateless persons.

Among other steps taken over the past decade are the organization of major representative forums of global significance, international consultations and meetings, as well as large-scale humanitarian actions and events within the framework of the Global Action Plan.

Due to the state policy, based on the humanitarian principles of valiant ancestors, thousands of stateless persons were admitted to citizenship of Turkmenistan. Today, they have full and inalienable rights of citizens of our sovereign Homeland, making a worthy contribution to the socio-economic development of Turkmenistan, in the era of the Revival of the new epoch of the powerful state confidently moving along the path of progress and prosperity.

The ceremony of handing over passports to the remaining 1,146 stateless persons held in Ashgabat on September 25 of this year made it possible to resolve all known cases of statelessness in the country.

By all accounts, the large-scale work to reduce and prevent statelessness, initiated by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Hero-Arkadag and successfully continued by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, has significantly enriched the existing international experience in this area and today rightfully serves as a worthy example for other states, deserving the interested attention and study of the world community.

The presentation of the corresponding UNHCR certificate to the Government of Turkmenistan was a high assessment of our country’s contribution to solving the global problem of statelessness.

Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who presented this certificate to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov during the meeting held today, once again congratulated Turkmenistan on this achievement, emphasizing that the organization highly appreciates the country’s efforts to eradicate statelessness and its continued commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the process of sustainable development.

As noted, the achievements of the states of the region represent a set of measures for entire communities, which is of particular importance for future generations. It is assumed that Central Asia may become the first sub-region in the world to resolve all cases of statelessness.

Efforts and commitments to combat statelessness will be continued within the framework of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, launched by UNHCR on October 14, based on the specific achievements of the #IBelong campaign.

Incidentally, Turkmenistan has demonstrated international leadership in this issue, becoming the first country in Central Asia to join the new Alliance.

The conference included presentations by delegations of Central Asian countries and lively discussions on such topics as “Universal Birth Registration: Best Regional Practices”, “Improving Procedures for Determining the Status of a Stateless Person”, “Statelessness and Development: Building a Sustainable Future”, “Exploring Opportunities within the Framework of the Global Alliance to End Statelessness”. 

Having expressed sincere gratitude to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people Hero-Arkadag for their comprehensive assistance in the successful promotion of the #IBelong completed global campaign and the ongoing multifaceted activities aimed at implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as strengthening and expanding international cooperation, the conference participants emphasized the importance of further combining efforts and developing joint consolidated approaches to the problem of eradicating statelessness as a global challenge of the 21st century.