38. The deprivation of nationality as a national security measure is a deeply problematic practice, that is unlikely to meed international law standards of the prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the prohibition of discrimination, the avoidance of statelessness. Given the inherently punitive and permanent nature of citizenship deprivation, it is also likely to impinge on other rights including the freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to private life and the prohibition of refoulement. Birth registration 39. According to UNICEF, 97.7% of births of children under the age of five in Kyrgyzstan have been registered.24 While generally this registration rate is high, over 18,000 children under the age of five lack birth registration. As a party to the CRC, every child born in Kyrgyzstan has an enshrined right to be registered immediately after birth, pursuant to Article 7. Whilst the lack of birth registration does not amount to statelessness, it contributes to the risk children will be left without a nationality.25 40. In 2016-2017, an extensive gaps analysis of the national legislation governing statelessness and nationality issues conducted by the Inter-Agency Working Group comprised of key ministries, NGO partners and UNHCR, revealed a number of legislative gaps that need to be addressed, including birth registration and safeguards to prevent children born and living in its territory from becoming stateless. The findings of the analysis were presented to the Parliament and Government. As the result, several legal reforms (Law “On Civil Acts”, Law “On Legal Status of Aliens in the Kyrgyz Republic”, civil registry reform) are in progress in the area of birth registration and prevention of statelessness. Recommendations 41. Based on the above analysis, the co-submitting organisations would like to ask reviewing States to commend Kyrgyzstan for its efforts taken to address statelessness as a result of the break-up of the Soviet Union. 42. Based on the above analysis, the co-submitting organisations urge reviewing States to make the following recommendations to Kyrgyzstan: I. Ensure the correct implementation of Kyrgyz Presidential regulation No. 174, so that all so-called “Border Brides” have access to valid documentation. II. Expedite the ongoing endorsement of the Stateless Status Determination Procedure to ensure the protection and enjoyment of rights of stateless persons until such time as they acquire a nationality. III. Review it’s draft Constitutional Law on Deprivation of Citizenship and ensure that there is no legal regression, which will result in persons being deprived of their nationality for the purported reason of safeguarding national security. IV. Continue the efforts, among others through the pending legal reforms on civil registration, to ensure universal birth registration in Kyrgyzstan. Accede to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. 24 25 EEAS, 'In Kyrgyzstan as much as 18,000 children are invisible' (online, 1 February 2019). EEAS, 'In Kyrgyzstan as much as 18,000 children are invisible' (online, 1 February 2019). 8