SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA TABLE 16 Status of Accession Of International Human Rights Treaties Country Uzbekistan ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ⛔ Stateless 2 ⛔ Refugee ⛔ Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention Treaty ratification status Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan states that “if an international treaty of the Republic of Uzbekistan establishes other rules than those provided for by the legislation on citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan, then the rules of the international treaty are applied.”726 Uzbekistan has ratified the ICCPR, ICESCR, ICERD, CRC, and CEDAW with no reservations. The country has yet to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Uzbekistan is the only country in Central Asia that has yet to ratify the Refugee Convention and its Protocol. Despite the fact that Uzbekistan has not yet ratified the Statelessness Conventions, much of its legislation already aligns with the Conventions, including the right to citizenship protected in the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan.727 In 2020 concluding observations by the CEDAW Committee, it was recommended that Uzbekistan provide legal safeguards for its citizens living abroad who have not registered at a consulate in the last 7 years to ensure they do not become stateless.728 Uzbekistan’s ratification of the ICERD binds the Republic to ensure that the right to nationality 68 ICCPR ✅ ICESCR ✅ ICERD ✅ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness birth and have access to Uzbek nationality and identity documents”.736 Uzbekistan is obligated, under its ratification of the CRC, to ensure that all children be registered immediately at birth.737 Population Reported stateless persons is protected.729 In 2020, the CERD Committee expressed concerns about the requirement for stateless persons to prove a source of income in order to apply for citizenship.730 The concluding observations also included concerns about discrimination faced by the Luli/Roma community, particularly the barriers they face to obtain identity documents and recommended to immediately ensure that Luli/Roma have access to such documents.731 To this, Uzbekistan responded as part of the follow-up procedure stating that “Lyuli/Roma persons in Uzbekistan have equal rights and equal opportunities to obtain identity documents” and that as of November 2020, 25,638 documents were issued to Lyuli/Roma persons, “including 13,100 to women”.732 The Committee responded to Uzbekistan’s follow-up reaffirming their concerns that only 25,638 documents were issued despite the fact that there are 69,851 Luli/Roma in Uzbekistan.733 Additionally, the Committee requested Uzbekistan to provide an explanation for the discrepancy in issuance of identity documents.734 Further included in the concluding observations by both the CERD and CEDAW committees, are concerns regarding the lack of guarantee of Uzbek citizenship for a foreign citizen renouncing their citizenship of another state while still in the process of applying for citizenship of Uzbekistan.735 The CEDAW committee further expressed recommendations to ensure proper legal safeguards for children born in the territory who may otherwise be stateless and that all children born in the territory be “registered at STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) By the end of 2022, there were 27,389 reported stateless persons in Uzbekistan, which was a 10,604 decrease from 2021.738 These numbers also show exceptional improvement in the reduction of statelessness from five years ago, when the reported population reached 97,346 stateless persons.739 Further, 83,793 cases have been resolved in the country since 2014, evidencing that Uzbekistan has made great strides in identifying and resolving cases of statelessness.740 UNHCR reported numbers include only stateless persons with permanent residence permits officially reported by the government.741 Persons at risk of statelessness Foreign citizens at risk of statelessness in Uzbekistan include those going through the naturalization process who do not have descendent links to Uzbekistan applying for naturalization.742 Uzbek citizens living abroad who have not registered at a consulate in the past 7 years are also at risk of losing their Uzbek citizenship.743 Children at risk of statelessness include: those born to one foreign citizen and one Uzbek citizens living abroad who have not registered at a consulate in the past 7 years are also at risk of losing their Uzbek citizenship. Children at risk of statelessness include: those born to one foreign citizen and one Uzbek citizen, those born to one stateless parent and one foreign parent, foundling children who may know the identity of one or both parents, children of undocumented single mothers and children who would otherwise be stateless. Uzbek citizen, those born to one stateless parent and one foreign parent, foundling children who may know the identity of one or both parents, children of undocumented single mothers and children who would otherwise be stateless.744 The historically nomadic Lyuli/Mughat community in Uzbekistan comprises an estimated 69,851 people.745 The Lyuli/Mughat community faces socioeconomic discrimination and marginalization based on their ethnicity with low access to quality education, health, employment and housing.746 The community tends to be “confined to a low level education, informal employment, temporary housing and unaffordable medical services” and many face barriers in obtaining identity documents placing them at risk of statelessness.747 The historically nomadic Lyuli/Mughat community in Uzbekistan comprises an estimated 69,851 people. The Lyuli/Mughat community faces socioeconomic discrimination and marginalization based on their ethnicity with low access to quality education, health, employment and housing. TABLE 17 Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Uzbekistan 2019 (year start)748 2020 (year end)749 2021 (year end)750 2022 (year end)751 79,942 69,791 37,993 27,389 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. REPORT 2024 69