PROGRESS ON THE GLOBAL ACTION PLAN TO END STATELESSNESS ACTION 1: Resolve existing major situations of statelessness Major statelessness situations are often linked to the non-inclusion of specific groups in the body of citizens at the time of independence, sometimes for discriminatory reasons. These situations generally have persisted for decades. Many States have recognized the negative impact and taken steps to resolve large-scale situations. They have shown that the key factor is political will and that relatively simple and low-cost reforms can have an immediate, permanent impact. In addition to Kyrgyzstan’s historic first, many other States have achieved considerable progress in resolving statelessness within their territory, including Azerbaijan, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam. Kyrgyzstan resolves all known cases of statelessness When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 and was succeeded by 15 independent countries, hundreds of thousands of former Soviet citizens were suddenly left stateless. Passports issued by the disbanded state became useless. People were left stranded and uncertain of their rights, for years or even decades, due to gaps in legislation. Women were disproportionately affected, especially those who had married someone from another nationality. After its independence, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic committed to working with UNHCR to end statelessness in its territory. At the outset of the IBelong Campaign, Kyrgyzstan committed to UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, resolving to rapid, concerted action – which resulted in the nation resolving all known cases of statelessness in 2019, halfway through the IBelong Campaign. A significant portion of the work came through the efforts of organizations like Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders, which received funding from UNHCR in 2014 to help map stateless populations and set up mobile legal clinics. Led by a lawyer named Azizbek Ashurov, who has championed the rights of stateless people for more than 20 years, the organization’s dedicated staff covered countless kilometers to meet vulnerable communities and help address their challenges. Ashurov and his team even traveled to some remote areas by foot or on horseback. Collaboration between the Government, organizations and other partners resulted in the identification of 13,700 stateless people – including more than 2,000 children. After years of policy work and grassroots action, the last 50 known stateless people in Kyrgyzstan received birth certificates and passports in July 2019, giving them citizenship. Ashurov was awarded the 2019 Nansen Refugee Award for his hard work, and Kyrgyzstan stands as a remarkable example of how statelessness can be solved. “We are a small country, with few resources,” Ashurov says. “But we have resolved statelessness together. It is not impossible, and it can be applicable elsewhere. Citizenship is not a privilege; it is a necessity. These are not just numbers – these are people whose lives have been changed forever.” #IBELONG 13