Migration Service Committee and UNHCR discuss ways to improve statelessness determination in Kazakhstan

Қазақ | Русский

On 13 December 2023, UNHCR, together with the Migration Service Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, conducted a joint workshop in Astana to enhance procedures for identifying and documenting stateless persons in Kazakhstan. 

Statelessness, or the situation of not being recognized as a citizen by any country, affects millions of people around the world, and over 8,000 people in Kazakhstan alone. Stateless and undocumented people often cannot access the most basic of rights, including access to education, formal employment, health services or marriage registration. 

“Having citizenship, and all the rights and protections that come with it, is vitally important”

With 46 participants from the Migration Service Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its regional divisions, UNHCR and non-governmental organizations, the workshop provided a forum for detailed discussion on the application of the existing “Rules for determining the legal status of persons in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan who are not citizens of Kazakhstan and lack evidence of belonging to the citizenship of another state”. 

“Everyone’s right to a nationality is more important than ever as the world faces complex challenges such as new and ongoing conflicts,” said Irina Bilyalova, Head of UNHCR National Office Kazakhstan. “Having citizenship, and all the rights and protections that come with it, is vitally important”. 

Sessions were facilitated by legal experts from UNHCR; international specialists from the Asylum and Statelessness Directorate of Moldova, the Citizenship and Migration Service of the Public Service Development Agency of Georgia as well as practitioners from the Migration Service Committee, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, and NGO “Legal Center for Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim”.  

Workshop participants made joint recommendations to upgrade the current Rules, enhancing effectiveness and fairness in the process of determining the status of stateless persons, and discussed the importance of aligning national legislation with key safeguards established by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

This harmonization is a pivotal step towards enhancing the legal safeguards for stateless people in Kazakhstan, ensuring that their rights are recognized and respected in accordance with international standards.

“Aligning with these international standards is vital for the effective integration and support of the rights and protection envisioned by these conventions within Kazakhstan’s legal system,” said Sergiu Gaina, UNHCR Statelessness Officer. “This harmonization is a pivotal step towards enhancing the legal safeguards for stateless people in Kazakhstan, ensuring that their rights are recognized and respected in accordance with international standards.” 

For over a decade Kazakhstan, supported by UNHCR, has made substantive progress in reducing and preventing statelessness, resolving nearly 13,000 cases since the launch of the 10-year global #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness in 2014.  

At this week’s Global Refugee Forum – the largest international conference on refugee and statelessness issues – in Switzerland, the Government of Kazakhstan made five pledges, including two dedicated to ending statelessness:  

• Establish relevant legislative safeguards to reduce statelessness in Kazakhstan within 2024-2025. 
• Reduce the number of stateless persons through naturalization in 2024.  

Kazakhstan is proudly preparing to accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions, highlighting its commitment to protecting human rights. The universal implementation of the Conventions will end statelessness within a single generation.