On September 30, the Human Rights Commissioner in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Government of Kazakhstan, and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, discussed progress towards resolving statelessness in the country.
Statelessness, or the situation of not being recognized as a citizen by any country, affects millions of people around the world. In Kazakhstan, undocumented stateless people often cannot access the most basic of rights, including being able to go to school, work legally, access health services or marry.
The discussion was moderated by Ms. Elvira Azimova, Commissioner for Human Rights, with opening remarks delivered by Mr. Aidos Sarym, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Mazhilis of Parliament; Ms. Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator; and Mr. Hans Friedrich Schodder, UNHCR Representative for Central Asia.
Attendees discussed the country’s progress and challenges in eradicating statelessness, as well as the interest, implications and impact of Kazakhstan acceding to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness – the key international United Nations conventions addressing statelessness.
“We are very proud of the progress Kazakhstan has made to help people who are stateless in our country and to amend our laws to improve birth registration procedures and protect the rights of stateless persons,” said Ms. Elvira Azimova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan. “The next step for us to further demonstrate our commitment, is to accede the UN Conventions that set the international standards for preventing statelessness at birth and later in life, and for protecting the rights of stateless persons.”
By acceding to and implementing the Statelessness Conventions, States implement unified citizenship standards, eradicate statelessness and demonstrate their commitment to the respect of basic rights.
“The United Nations remains committed to supporting Kazakhstan to end statelessness across the country,” said Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan. “In the spirit of the 2030 Agenda to ensure no one is left behind in the country’s sustainable development, we look forward to seeing Kazakhstan achieve this ambitious goal and serve as a model for the rest of the world.”
“Everyone, everywhere in the world has the right to a nationality, the right to be recognized as a citizen by at least one State,” said Mr. Hans Friedrich Schodder, UNHCR Representative for Central Asia. “Citizenship not only provides an individual with a sense of identity, but also gives an entitlement to the protection by a State and enables the person to more meaningfully contribute to economic, social and cultural development of the country.”
In 2014, UNHCR launched the global #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness. Since then, Kazakhstan has made good progress in addressing and preventing statelessness. Key achievements include amendments to the Code on Marriage and Family to ensure all children born in Kazakhstan are registered at birth, and establishment of statelessness determination procedures.
“UNHCR has strengthened its advice and support for a possible accession to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions. We remain committed to continue supporting the Government, Parliament, and authorities in accelerating achievement of the #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024,” said Mr. Schodder.
In 2020, the Migration Services Committee of the Ministry of Interior launched a 20-month country-wide statelessness identification and documentation campaign. Nearly 9,000 undocumented stateless people were identified through the campaign, of whom 4,800 confirmed their citizenship of Kazakhstan and around 2,700 obtained legal stateless status.
Statelessness in Kazakhstan and neighboring States largely resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union. While many residents were able to confirm or acquire the nationality of Kazakhstan or another successor state, some remained in legal limbo. There are currently over 7,500 stateless persons are known to still require a nationality in Kazakhstan, though their actual number is likely higher.
To date, 96 States have acceded the 1954 Convention, and 78 States to the 1961 Convention, including six CIS countries. Guided by the #IBelong campaign, additional States are exploring possible accession, signaling strengthened global political will to end statelessness.
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
