of stateless persons and persons with undetermined nationality is the first step towards solutions to statelessness. National population census, government registration programs and surveys not only help to uncover cases of undocumented persons but can also be the starting point for efforts to clarify whether these persons hold a nationality and to regularise their stay in the country. Recommendations: In the area of identification of statelessness, participants recommended the following: • to continue efforts to identify stateless persons, including through population census, surveys and registration campaigns; • to strengthen cooperation between States to confirm the identify and nationality of specific individuals; • to ensure that individuals who lack valid identity documents, including holders of expired USSR passports, are issued with documentation,1 thereby confirming their legal status in the State. II. Prevention of Statelessness Statelessness can be prevented by ensuring that nationality laws and related procedures prevent statelessness from occurring either at birth or as a result of change, loss or deprivation of nationality. Birth registration is also important because it constitutes a key form of proof of the link between an individual and a State and thus it is essential in ensuring the right of every child to acquire a nationality. The only country in Central Asia which has undertaken a major reform of its nationality legislation since independence is Kyrgyzstan. The new nationality law in 2007 recognizes stateless persons who used to be USSR citizens and have been permanently resident in Kyrgyzstan for the last five years as citizens and also introduced a partial safeguard against statelessness occurring from renunciation of citizenship. Both provisions are regional best practices. The government representatives from Kazakhstan described the bilateral and multilateral agreements concluded with the states which seek to avoid statelessness when persons change nationality. Also in Kazakhstan, special conditions for acquisition of nationality apply for ethnic Kazakhs, Oralman, who arrive for permanent residence in the country. These include a waiver of the residence requirement, the obligation to prove financial solvency and the requirement to renounce other nationalities before applying for Kazakhstan nationality. The delegation from Tajikistan highlighted that home births remain quite common in rural areas, although the number has dropped since the 1990s. In many cases these children are not registered at birth. The government is working intensively on measures to address this problem and to simplify the procedures for birth registration, including by issuing the medical certificate and birth certificate simultaneously when the child is born in hospital. Under its mandate to prevent statelessness, UNHCR has offered technical advice to governments with the aim to close gaps in legislation which could lead to statelessness. In the four Central Asian states, it has cooperated either bilaterally or through inter-agency work- 1 National passport, passport of a foreign State or identity document for stateless persons. 11 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic