Turkmenistan takes a leading position in eradicating statelessness

One of the main areas of Turkmenistan's strategic partnership with the UN is the humanitarian sphere.

In particular, the Government of Turkmenistan, together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international structures, is taking appropriate measures to ensure the rights of refugees and stateless persons.

Currently, the national legislation of Turkmenistan is recognized by UNHCR as exemplary in terms of protecting and ensuring the rights, freedoms and interests of all people living in the country.

It is important to note that Turkmenistan was the first in the region to develop and adopt the Law on Refugees in 1997, and in 1998 joined the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

By joining the main international documents for the prevention and reduction of statelessness throughout the world, the state in fact confirms its commitment to the obligations it has assumed.

As a party to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Turkmenistan became the first country in Central Asia to accede to the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The country demonstrates effective practice of legislative regulation and implementation of international obligations in the field of migration, including addressing issues of providing social protection and equal opportunities to stateless persons – stateless persons and migrants. In March 2012, the Law of Turkmenistan “On Migration” was adopted, which is periodically supplemented and improved.

In May 2012, in close cooperation with the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Turkmenistan hosted an international conference dedicated to the problem of refugees.

In 2014, Turkmenistan, together with UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, held a major international forum on migration and statelessness, and in 2016 – the first Regional Conference on Statelessness.

In this regard, it is important to note Turkmenistan's initiative to organize the participation of a team of refugee athletes in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Ashgabat. Turkmenistan is ready to continue to cooperate in this area by inviting refugee teams to various competitions and joint training sessions in preparation for major international sporting events.

Taking into account the implementation of refugee support measures enshrined in the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees, at the 2019 High-Level Segment on Statelessness, Turkmenistan committed to addressing all known cases of statelessness by providing citizenship, updating determination mechanisms, reforming birth registration and improving data management.

Guided by this Global Campaign, Turkmenistan has fully implemented the National Action Plan to End Statelessness for 2019-2024.

In 2021, Turkmenistan adopted the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens, introducing one of the most detailed procedures for determining statelessness in the world.

Turkmenistan is the first country in the region to join the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. As a party to most of the fundamental documents of the UNHCR system, the country is actively implementing important decisions in the field of eradicating statelessness.

Since the launch of the UN global campaign #IBelong (#I Belong) in 2014 aimed at eradicating the problem of statelessness worldwide, Turkmenistan has achieved unprecedented success in eradicating statelessness, introducing one of the most extensive procedures for determining the status of statelessness in the world. Turkmenistan has now fully implemented its obligations under this ten-year program.

In recent years, the state has granted citizenship to more than 32,000 people, including refugees and stateless persons, attributing this achievement to a combination of strong political will, legislative reforms, international cooperation and modernization of citizen identification and registration systems. This step towards implementing the undertaken commitments has received special recognition from the UN, in particular the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

As a result of systematic and planned work, Turkmenistan has today demonstrated international leadership by becoming the first state party to the Statelessness Conventions to resolve all known cases of statelessness, as well as the first country in Central Asia to join the Global Alliance to End Statelessness.

Under the leadership of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the country will continue this humanitarian work. The country's intentions in this context are reflected in the priority positions of Turkmenistan at the 78th and 79th sessions of the UN General Assembly.

The Regional Ministerial Conference on Ending Statelessness in Central Asia and Celebrating the Region’s Excellence in Achieving this Goal, to be held on 8 November 2024 in Ashgabat, will provide an important platform for sharing experiences and strengthening regional cooperation in ending statelessness.