. Identification re ention and reduction o state essness avenues for reducing statelessness, including by recognizing as nationals former USSR citizens that were stateless provided they could prove they had been residents of Kyrgyzstan during the preceding five years. The law also created a simplified naturalization procedure for individuals able to prove a link with Kyrgyzstan. Subsequent amendments expanded the criteria for persons who could benefit from these procedures so that statelessness among particular populations could be resolved. Surveys conducted by UNHCR and partners resulted in the creation of an inter-ministerial process to address statelessness, particularly through the convening of annual High-Level Steering Meetings on the Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the adoption of a National Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness. Several important initiatives have been undertaken on the further steps needed to resolve statelessness in Kyrgyzstan. Between 2009 and 2012, these initiatives helped approximately 45,000 people to replace old USSR passports, and some 2,000 formerly stateless individuals to obtain citizenship by presidential decree, many with the assistance of UNHCR and its Kyrgyz NGO partners. In addition, the new 2013 citizenship regulations contain some important procedural guarantees pertaining to the process of determining if an individual is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, a non-citizen, or a stateless person. Among those who benefitted from these initiatives are representatives of the Mugat (Lyuli) community in Kyrgyzstan. Since 2014, 550 members of the Lyuli community received free legal assistance and 535 individuals obtained national identity documents allowing them to access medical services, child support and the right to vote. Between 2014 and 2016, the Kyrgyz Government, legal NGOs and UNHCR launched a joint endeavour to address the remaining cases of statelessness in the country as part of the National Action Plan. 68 mobile teams have worked throughout the country, including in remote villages, providing free legal consultations and helping to file for documentation or citizenship 68