Thus, for example, a child of foreigners who permanently reside in the Kyrgyz Republic but who may be unable to pass their nationality on to their child is ineligible for the nationality of Kyrgyzstan even if they become stateless. Moreover, a child of stateless parents who do not have legal status as permanent residents may not be entitled to nationality at birth even though they were born in the Kyrgyz Republic. Bringing Kyrgyz law in full compliance with the standards set by the 1961 Convention will help eliminate such gaps and decrease the risk of becoming stateless. With the introduction of the new Citizenship Law in 2007, the Kyrgyz Republic took a decisive step towards reducing the stateless population in the country. In particular, for former USSR citizens who have resided in the country for the last five or more years but have not acquired the citizenship of any other country are now recognized as citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. With the majority of existing statelessness cases being those of former USSR citizens, the significance of this step cannot be underestimated. However, other categories of stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness need to be similarly addressed by authorities as they otherwise have no way of acquiring Kyrgyz citizenship. Although the law provides an opportunity to acquire citizenship, i.e. through naturalization, the issue of valid identity documents or established nationality or statelessness status excludes them from the possibility of these provisions of the law. In addition, the lack of formal recognition in the country and the associated conferral of definite status impede the ability of exercising a number of rights and freedoms. Despite legal recognition of equality before the law, stateless persons are limited in exercising rights and freedoms set forth in the law due to the requirement of the possession of valid identity documentation and more importantly, the formal recognition of a person’s status. It is evident that an improvement in one aspect, i.e. identification or protection, prevention or reduction, will not solve the complicated problem of statelessness. All aspects are interrelated, interdependent and equally important and only a comprehensive approach to address all four components will improve the situation of statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic. Insufficient information on the socio-demographic situation of the stateless population combined with imprecise data and vague legal frameworks governing the issue of statelessness perpetuate and hinder the ability to attain quick and effective solutions. Nevertheless, the current political will that the country is demonstrating in attempting to resolve the situation of stateless persons and person at risk, including initiatives to improve domestic legislation and bring it in compliance with international standards; revisions of existing laws to reduce gaps that increase the risk of statelessness for former USSR citizens who have not acquired any citizenship; as well as increasing regional and international cooperation in finding solutions to statelessness. If such initiatives are adopted they will help dramatically reduce the occurrences of statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic particularly the type associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting border demarcation between new states that were previously neighbouring provinces. 81 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic