On 22 September, the Representative of UNHCR for Central Asia, Hans Friedrich Schodder, met the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic – Minister of Digital Development (MDD) Dastan Dogoev, Director of the Department of Population Registration and Civil Status Acts under the MDD Eliza Esenalieva and human rights lawyer, winner of the prestigious Nansen Award Azizbek Ashurov.
In 2019 Mr. Ashurov with direct assistance of the Department of Population Registration and Civil Status Acts under the MDD had won the international Nansen Award for supporting the efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic in becoming the first country in the world to resolve all known cases of statelessness. The award, bestowed annually to honour individuals and organisations that protect forcefully displaced and stateless people, includes a commemorative medal and a project funding, generously donated by the governments of Switzerland and Norway.
Today, Mr Ashurov opened a training centre on nationality as part of the project implemented with his Nansen Award prize. In cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Centre will provide capacity building and education for state services, lawyers, and law students to ensure the training and skill sharing on the issues of nationality, statelessness and migration.
On the same day, UNHCR handed over technical equipment at the value of 22,000 USD to the Ministry of Digital Developments of the Kyrgyz Republic, which assumed responsibilities for citizenship and statelessness issues.
“Kyrgyzstan demonstrated its commitment to protect the fundamental right to a nationality by resolving all known cases of statelessness on its territory. This year when we mark the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is a good occasion to reflect on the importance of this treaty for preventing statelessness, and we are ready to offer our advice and support to the Kyrgyz Republic on becoming party to the two UN Statelessness Conventions,” said Mr. Hans Friedrich Schodder at the event.
With the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic – Minister of Digital Development D. Dogoev and Director of the Department of Population Registration and Civil Status Acts E. Esenalieva Mr Schodder discussed the support of UNHCR and its partners to the Kyrgyz Republic to implement its four pledges made at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in Geneva in 2019 to prevent re-occurrence of statelessness in the country and accede to the Statelessness Conventions.
UNHCR continues to support the Kyrgyz Republic in playing an important positive role in the Global #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024.
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