4 Security from Violence and Exploitation Stateless persons with permanent residence permission in the territory of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan generally enjoy the same rights and obligations as citizens. They are equal before the law, regardless of their origin and other attributes, and they can defend themselves and their property through the courts.305 Stateless persons without permanent residence permission and formal recognition as ‘stateless’, do not have these entitlements. They make up most of the stateless population known to UNHCR in the Central Asia region. In each of the four States, people not officially recognised as ‘stateless persons’ generally find themselves living and working on the margins of society. Here, they and their children may be prone to exploitation, but their status in law is so precarious that many fear that contact with law enforcement agencies will lead to administrative fines or expulsion. Although they are among the most vulnerable social groups in each of the States, unrecognised ‘stateless persons’ are among the least able to find legal protection. 4.1 Law enforcement UNHCR has limited data on law enforcement and stateless persons in the Central Asia region – in some cases caused by limited access to stateless populations. Until the arrival of large numbers of refugees in Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, UNHCR had not been present in Uzbekistan since June 2005. In Turkmenistan, access to interview stateless persons living in northern Turkmenistan, where most stateless persons in the country are believed to be, has been difficult since UNHCR has no regular presence in the provinces. In northern Tajikistan, law enforcement officers working with stateless persons enabled UNHCR to speak with a diverse group of people with documentation problems in Khujand. In Kazakhstan, migration police officers and local branches of UNHCR’s implementing partner facilitated focus group discussions with stateless persons in the furthermost parts of the South-Kazakhstan region. All these interviews identified areas where law enforcement officers have helped stateless persons with the exchange of passports, or with compiling documents for statelessness applications. UNHCR recognises, however, that the presence of uniformed officers in the meetings may have inhibited some stateless participants from speaking freely. The most detailed information available on law enforcement in the region comes from surveys conducted by UNHCR’s NGO partners in Kyrgyzstan. These found that male immigrants from Uzbekistan with expired national passports, are liable to arbitrary arrest and detention by local law enforcement officers. Eight percent of respondents in the survey carried out in southern Kyrgyzstan alleged that their rights had been violated by State agents and 88% of these linked the incident to the fact that they were stateless.306 Stateless persons in Kyrgyzstan have consequently tried to avoid law enforcement authorities. In their view, it is not the fact that they are stateless that puts them at risk of discrimination and abuse, but their lack of any legal status at all. Not having proper documents creates problems with law enforcement officers and makes them reluctant to ask for help.307 305 Articles 3 and 18, 1995 Law No 2337 ‘On the Legal Status of Foreigners’ in Kazakhstan; Articles 3 and 20, 1993 Law No 1296-XII ‘On the Legal Status of Aliens in Kyrgyzstan’; Article 21, 1997 Law No 500 ‘On the Legal Status of Foreigners’ in Tajikistan, as amended in 2009; Articles 3 and 21, 1993 Law ‘On the Legal Status of Foreigners’ in Turkmenistan, as amended in 2011. There is no equivalent law in Uzbekistan. 306 UN High Commissioner for Refugees, A Place to Call Home. The Situation of Stateless persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR, UNHCR Bishkek, 2009, p. 26. 307 In August 2000, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended Kyrgyzstan to ensure in future that fines for non-possession of documentation be made only to a court, or to officials not involved in the citation, and that receipts be mandatory, Concluding Comments and Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/15/Add.127, 9 August 2000, para. 54. ~ 46 ~