SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA should be expedited for stateless persons to “reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings”.663 possessing the citizenship of any foreign state”.658 This definition does not align with international standards as it places the burden of proof on stateless persons, who often do not have and are unable to obtain documentation proving absence of nationality elsewhere. Dual citizenship Provisions regarding dual citizenship are included in Article 5 of the Law.664 Article 5(2) states that dual citizenship is not recognized, and that a citizen of Turkmenistan who holds the nationality of another state “shall be regarded exceptionally as a citizen of Turkmenistan”.665 The Law does not provide provisions on the process of renunciation of previous citizenship of a different state when applying for Turkmen citizenship. Naturalized citizenship Any “capable person” who is 18 years of age or older is eligible to apply for Turkmen citizenship as stipulated in Article 12 of the Law on Citizenship.659 To do so, the individual must abide by the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan, be able to communicate in the official language, be a habitual resident in the territory for five years, and have a legal source of income.660 Habitual residency is accepted as long as the individual has not left the country for longer than a three month period in one year.661 The Law does not provide provisions on the process of renunciation of previous citizenship of a different state when applying for Turkmen citizenship. Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.667 The 1954 Convention includes protections of the rights to education, employment, housing, identity, travel documents, and administrative assistance.668 Adding to this, the 1961 Convention seeks to prevent and eventually end statelessness, including protections for the right to nationality for every person ensures proper legal safeguards in nationality laws to prevent statelessness.669 The 1961 Convention also protects children who would otherwise be stateless by ensuring their citizenship in their country of birth if they are not eligible for citizenship elsewhere.670 A shortened period of habitual residence is accepted for Turkmen people and their descendents, former citizens of the USSR, those with outstanding achievements, persons granted asylum, and refugees, among others.662 This notably does not include stateless persons. Article 32 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons provides that such a process Article 3(2) of the Law of Turkmenistan on Citizenship of Turkmenistan states that “if an international treaty of Turkmenistan establishes rules that differ from those stipulated in the present Law, the rules of the international treaty shall be applied.”666 In 2018, the CERD Committee in its concluding observations recommended that Turkmenistan improve its data collection and reporting of stateless persons and expedite the process of eliminating statelessness within its territory.671 Additionally, in 2018, the CEDAW Committee in its concluding observations noted the need for improving statistics on the stateless population and improving the statelessness determination procedure in Turkmenistan, particularly due to compounded marginalization of stateless women and girls.672 The individual must abide by the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan, be able to communicate in the official language, be a habitual resident in the territory for five years, and have a legal source of income. Habitual residency is accepted as long as the individual has not left the country for longer than a three month period in one year. Turkmenistan is one of only three states in the entire Asia-Pacific region to achieve perfect treaty ratification status. Turkmenistan has ratified all international treaties pertaining to statelessness with no reservations and is the first and only country in Central Asia to have ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of As a party to the ICCPR, Turkmenistan is bound to protect freedom of movement.673 Reports that the Turkmenistan government has been requesting citizens to give up their passports and hault applications for passports, the main citizenship certifying document in Turkmenistan, are in direct violation of its obligations to the ICCPR.674 Treaty ratification status TABLE 14 Population Status of Accession Of International Human Rights Treaties Reported stateless persons Country Turkmenistan ✅ ⛔ 62 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 ✅ 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 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Turkmenistan’s Pledges to End Statelessness In 2019, the Turkmenistan government established the National Action Plan to End Statelessness intended to resolve all existing cases of statelessness and ensure proper legal safeguards against statelessness by 2024.676 Unfortunately, as of 2022, the reported stateless population in Turkmenistan is still quite high, as discussed in the Population section, making the possibility of following through on this pledge slim. Turkmenistan also made three pledges pertaining to statelessness at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in 2019.677 The pledges include commitments to undertake a widespread registration campaign to register and improve statistics on stateless persons and ensure that all stateless persons have a fundamental right to citizenship, resolve all identified cases of statelessness, and redefine the definition of the status of stateless persons and end the risk of statelessness for children of undocumented people by realizing the National Action Plan in the upcoming 2022 Population Census.678 To date, there have been no improvements in the identification of stateless persons or on official statistics for the stateless population. As mentioned above, identified cases of statelessness have yet to be fully resolved in Turkmenistan. A new definition of the status of stateless persons has also not yet been solidified in national legislation. Commendably, however, Turkmenistan has taken steps towards ensuring universal birth registration for all children in the country, especially those born to undocumented parents.679 UNHCR reported 4,527 stateless persons in Turkmenistan in 2022.675 This shows an increase of 247 reported stateless persons since 2021, but REPORT 2024 63