Winners of 2022 Regional Statelessness Competition for Youth

Every year on 10 December, the world celebrates Human Rights Day, the day when, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms to which all of us are entitled. In the decades since its adoption, human rights have become more recognised and more guaranteed across the globe.

The Declaration serves as the foundation for an expanding system of human rights protection that includes us all, especially vulnerable groups such as stateless people.

On Human Rights Day, it is a pleasure to announce the winners of the 2022 Regional Statelessness Competition for Youth:

Written works:

• Winner: Sultan Bekzhanov (23) from Kyrgyzstan, with his research titled “Citizenship issues in international law and their links to the United Nations SDGs”;
• Runner up: Marsel Nurbolatov (24) from Kyrgyzstan with this poem titled “Who am I?”.

Audio-visuals:

• Winner: Oguz Azimov (17) from Turkmenistan with his video;
• Runner up: Akgozel Jumayeva (20) from Turkmenistan with her video.

Visuals

• Winner: Madina Baktybekova (22) from Kyrgyzstan with her comic on statelessness;
• Runner up: Shukurgeldi Myradov (19) from Turkmenistan with his drawing.

Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all participants of this year’s competition. Thank you also to Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Sana Sezim, Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders, Keik Okara, Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan and The Central Asian Network on Statelessness for judging the many great submissions.

Across Central Asia, there are over 40,000 stateless people. Without a nationality, they often have difficulty accessing basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. With no legal status or valid identification documents, it’s like these people do not exist.

By engaging youth, we can collectively foster empathy, eliminate stigma and enhance social integration of the stateless population in Central Asia. Having allies and advocates among youth is a strong platform for ensuring that human rights remain top of mind for the leaders of tomorrow and no one is left behind.