son concerned possesses or acquires another nationality. This understanding arises from Article 7 of the 1961 Convention. However, it is established procedure that grounds and conditions for renunciation of nationality are in the exclusive competence of the State in question. A State which intends to recognise obligations under the 1961 Convention should honour these grounds and conditions in its legislation. Ending nationality by means of renunciation is provided for in the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is envisaged in Article 24 of the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic and is termed “exiting from citizenship”. Exiting from citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic takes place based on free will in ordinary or simplified procedures, depending on the place of residence, with the exception of cases where renunciation of the citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic is not premitted or cases of loss of citizenship (Articles 25 and 26 of the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic.) Persons living in the Kyrgyz Republic can renounce citizenship in the ordinary procedure, while persons living in foreign states can use the simplified procedure. Renunciation of a child’s citizenship can be made, depending on the citizenship of the parents, in simplified procedure. These various procedures for ending citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic are defined in Article 3 of the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic: “The general procedure for acquiring or ending citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic is the procedure for considering issues of citizenship and making decisions on it by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic with regard to persons to whom the general conditions stipulated in this Law apply; … “The simplified procedure for acquiring or ending citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic is the procedure for considering issues of citizenship and making decisions on it by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic with regard to persons to whom the preferential conditions stipulated in this Law and that have been established in law by force of interstate agreements apply.” However, the Law stipulates neither general nor preferential conditions for ending citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic. This is a real problem. Such conditions are only envisaged with regard to acquiring citizenship. In the Regulation on the procedure for considering issues of citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, as established in Presidential Decree 473 of 25 October 2007, the conditions are also not set out. What is more, the Regulations also do not differentiate between general and simplified procedures for ending citizenship, but establish a single procedure, both for people living on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, and for people living abroad. With regard to the conditions for possessing or acquiring another nationality, which is essential on loss of nationality in Contracting States in accordance with Article 7, points 1(a) and 2 of the 1961 Convention, the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic does not stipulate these requirements. Instead, the condition is included in the Regulation mentioned above. In particular, point 33 envisages that a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, among other necessary documents, should have a document from an authorised body of a foreign state about possession of that nationality by the applicant, or confirmation of the possibility to acquire that nationality if nationality of the Kyrgyz Republic is lost. However, it should be noted that the Regulation is an act of secondary legislation, which has a lower legal status than a law. Therefore we believe that if the Kyrgyz Republic takes on obligations under the 1961 Convention it would be necessary to include this condition in the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic itself. In the 1961 Convention, particular attention is paid to the sub-issues of loss and deprivation of nationality. This is explained by the fact that an initiative to end citizenship in such situations fully belongs to state, i.e. individuals lose their citizenship not just because of the will of the state, but also on the state’s initiative. In case of arbitary application it would be a violation of universal human and citizen rights and freedoms. Therefore, there is a range of 31 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic