treated similarly as other foreigners in the same circumstances. This implies that national standards of protection of stateless persons in many respects are in compliance with international standards in this field and reflected in international instruments such as the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. UNHCR concurred that the legislation governing the legal status of aliens, including stateless persons, in the four Central Asian states is close to the standards of relevant international instruments. However, it was also noted that enjoyment of the rights and freedoms of domestic laws in the four countries often is subject to formal possession of statelessness status and identity documents issued by the state of residence. Those who have not been documented as stateless persons face much greater obstacles enjoying these rights and freedoms. The procedures for recognizing statelessness status are not always fair and efficient. Moreover, persons applying for residence registration as stateless persons are usually required to submit proof that they do not possess any other nationality, and face the same problems obtaining it as persons applying for acquisition of nationality. Recommendations: In the field of protection of stateless persons, participants recommended the following: • to work further on establishing formal procedures for the determination of statelessness status; • to grant a legal status, basic rights and identity documentation to stateless persons for an interim period until they are able to acquire a nationality; • to consider accession to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Conclusion Participants noted that the Conference had been a useful forum for sharing best practices and discussing remaining problems in the areas of identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons in the Central Asian region. Many of the government participants also expressed a desire to broaden their cooperation on these issues with international and non-governmental organisations, as well as among themselves. At the close of the Regional Conference, the participants welcomed the upcoming 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and agreed to review the progress to address the areas outlined in the Conference report and conclusions after one year. The Conference was funded by the European Commission Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic 14