3 Fair Protection Processes and Documentation 3.1 Procedures for Determination of Statelessness Status Seventy-four States from five regions took part in a UNHCR survey on statelessness in 2004.204 The aim was to plot steps that these States had taken to reduce statelessness and to meet the protection needs of stateless persons within their respective jurisdictions. The responses showed that only slightly more than half of the participating States – 54.1% – had any mechanisms in place to identify cases of statelessness, and only 44.6% knew the potential number of stateless persons within their territory.205 Over 86% of States who participated in the survey asked for more information on how to identify and document stateless persons. In UNHCR’s experience, a determination procedure that is prompt and fair yields two main benefits: it allows governments to identify and document stateless persons properly, and it enables stateless individuals to access rights and freedoms due to them under national law. Due process guarantees such as accessibility, a reasonable time-frame for processing cases; determinations that are reasoned and in writing; and the right of appeal to an independent body are one component of a fair and prompt procedure. In Kyrgyzstan, a major governmental reform which included changes to the procedures used for determining statelessness was interrupted by a revolution in April 2010. This chapter refers therefore to some new agencies and procedures, as well as old ones that were on the point of reform when the revolution took place. In Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to determine the citizenship of persons resident within State territory.206 In Kyrgyzstan, responsibility for this has passed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to a new State Registration Service. The State Service on Registration of Foreign Citizens determines citizenship in Turkmenistan.207 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan all define a stateless person as a non-citizen, who has no proof of citizenship of another State. Uzbekistan also uses this definition but only in respect of persons resident on Uzbek territory.208 In general, though, the Central Asian States have no dedicated and systematic procedure in place to determine whether a person is stateless. Instead, persons are often determined to be stateless incidentally through applications for residence permits or citizenship. In Kyrgyzstan, the Department of Population Registration within the State Registration Service determines the status of persons resident on State territory, who hold or have lost a USSR passport, or have no proof of any nationality. They review the status of applicants for Kyrgyz nationality, and grant statelessness certificates (i.e. travel documents for stateless persons), or residence permits for stateless persons, which must be applied for under a separate procedure. An extensive registration of persons with undetermined nationality in Turkmenistan since 2007 also does not appear to involve a proper 204 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan took part in the survey. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were not among the 74. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Final Report Concerning the Questionnaire on Statelessness Pursuant to the Agenda for Protection, March 2004, available at www.unhcr.org/4047002e4.pdf. 205 Ibid. 206 Article 29(3), 2007 Citizenship law of Kyrgyzstan; Article 33(3), 1992 Citizenship Law of Turkmenistan, as amended in 2003; Article 42, 1995 Citizenship law of Tajikistan, as amended in 2008; Article 31(4), 1992 Citizenship Law of Uzbekistan; Chapter 7, ‘Determining Affiliation to the Citizenship of Kazakhstan’ in Instruction No 556 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ‘On Processing Citizenship Issues in Kazakhstan’, dated 15 November 2002. 207 Article 33(3), 1992 Citizenship Law of Turkmenistan, as amended in 2003. 208 Article 6, 1992 Citizenship Law of Turkmenistan; Article 14(f), 2008 Citizenship Law of Tajikistan; Article 3, 2007 Citizenship Law of Kyrgyzstan; Article 1(c), 1996 Regulation No 3120 ‘On the Procedure for Considering Issues related to the Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan’, as amended in 2000; Article 2, 1995 Law No 2337 ‘On the Legal Status of Foreigners’ in Kazakhstan; Article 11, 1992 Citizenship Law of Uzbekistan. ~ 32 ~