as well as current statistics of people who recently acquired nationality. In Turkmenistan, 10,158 stateless refugees from Tajikistan were granted nationality by presidential decree in 2005 and more than 2,000 persons received permanent residence rights. In the Kyrgyz Republic, the new citizenship law adopted in 2007 recognized stateless individuals (former USSR citizens) who had arrived in the Republic after independence as citizens if they had resided there permanently for at least last five years. Approximately 6,000 individuals have thus been confirmed on this basis as Kyrgyz citizens. In Kazakhstan, 1,120 decrees have been adopted to grant nationality to approximately 658,000 individuals since 1992, many of whom were stateless. Some 60,000 Oralman of various other citizenships have been granted citizenship of the country to date. The government delegation from Tajikistan highlighted that problems relating to lack of valid identity documents affect women in rural areas disproportionately. The network of women’s committees has thus been engaged in identifying cases of women who possess expired USSR passports and assisting them to acquire new documents. Participants agreed that granting nationality to persons who are stateless and have been residing in the country for several years is an effective way to reduce existing instances of statelessness. However, several cases referred to during the conference indicated that the particular requirement that stateless persons who apply for citizenship need to show proof that they do not possess any other nationality often poses a serious obstacle to acquisition of nationality. Many practical problems may be associated with acquiring such a certificate from another state, in particular when the state has no diplomatic representation in the country of residence. Some States also fail to respond or respond only after a long delay. Recommendations: In the area of reduction of statelessness, participants recommended the following: • to reform legal provisions and administrative practices which pose obstacles to the reduction of statelessness in Central Asia, specifically provisions and practices under which stateless persons applying for residence permits or citizenship are required to submit a certificate to confirm they do not possess the nationality of other States with which they have links, without providing for exceptions for situations where the States concerned fail to reply; • facilitating acquisition of nationality for stateless persons through simplified procedures, including through reduced residency and documentation requirements and waiving of fees. IV. Protection of Stateless Persons The speaker from the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights noted the importance of universal and regional human rights instruments, which apply to every human being, regardless of nationality or statelessness. It was emphasized, however, that statelessness and lack of proper identity and travel documents often prevent persons from enjoying basic rights, such as education, health care, property ownership and formal employment. Efforts should thus be made by governments to remove administrative obstacles and grant stateless persons a legal status which enables them to enjoy all basic human rights and freedoms. During the Conference, several delegations spoke about the national legal regimes applicable to stateless persons. They stressed that stateless persons are either treated on the same footing as nationals of the countries with respect to certain rights and freedoms or 13 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic