. Identification
re ention and reduction o state essness
election observation missions. The recognition of legal identity is a precondition for access to other important fundamental, civil and political rights.
In line with its mandate, ODIHR’s assistance also focuses on administrative
and legislative frameworks for civil registration, owing to their key importance in enabling the legal recognition of each individual.
Good practice: Identification
and registration campaign in Turkmenistan
The political and operational will of the Government of Turkmenistan to
resolve the protracted situation of thousands of former USSR citizens with
undetermined nationality was demonstrated through an identification and
registration campaign. One factor that enabled the campaign’s success was
the technical expertise gained by the authorities when collaborating with
UNHCR on the identification and registration of 11,000 long-term refugees
for naturalization in 2004 and 2005.
An initial registration drive from 2007 to 2010 by the Turkmenistan authorities found some 4,000 individuals of undetermined nationality. The registered individuals completed and filed applications for naturalization or
residence status, depending on their personal circumstances, for the Government’s review.
A dialogue process on statelessness that began in 2008 between the Turkmenistan Government and UNHCR, led to the adoption in 2010 of an
Action Plan for Joint Activities on Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness between the Government and UNHCR. This created a framework
for collaboration on completing the identification and registration of individuals with undetermined nationality, and then reviewing and revising the
relevant laws.
The Government re-launched the registration campaign in 2011 as a collaborative multi-stakeholder process. Mobile registration teams consisting
of representatives of the Government and civil society, including legal
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