Acquisition of nationality through naturalization For individuals with ties to CIS countries that did not have consular representation in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Government provided UNHCR with a list of applicants from these countries. UNHCR then liaised with its offices in the relevant countries for assistance in contacting the competent authorities for confirmation of a person’s citizenship. UNHCR transmitted the results of such enquiries back to the Turkmen officials in Ashgabat. Initially, UNHCR covered the costs of obtaining such proof and applications for citizenship, but in 2013 negotiated a waiver of the naturalization fee. Results In July and October 2011, the Turkmen President signed two successive decrees granting citizenship to 1,590 and 1,728 stateless persons, respectively. All of the 3,318 individuals who were naturalized in 2011 had submitted citizenship applications under the 2007-2010 registration drive. During the 2011 campaign, approximately 8,300 individuals with undetermined nationality were registered. Of these, UNHCR and its partners had assisted 6,158 people by the end of 2013, helping them to file their naturalization applications and requests for confirmation of their citizenship status. The remaining 2,143 individuals registered in 2011 were awaiting confirmation of their citizenship from embassies. Some 680 cases from the 2007 registration exercise remained unresolved. On 25 October 2013, another presidential decree resulted in the grant of Turkmen citizenship to 609 stateless persons. Most of these individuals had been registered during the 2007-2010 registration drive and some in the 2011 exercise. As the review of the applications from the 2011 Campaign remains ongoing, the Turkmen Government and UNHCR are continuing to pursue the goals of their joint action plan. Turkmenistan acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in December 2011 and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in August 2012. In June 2013, a new Citizenship Law was adopted, incorporating several safeguards to prevent statelessness. An additional 786 stateless individuals were naturalized during a side event at a conference on statelessness and migration that was organized by the Government of Turkmenistan, UNHCR and IOM in June 2014. This has brought the total number of formerly stateless individuals who received Turkmen nationality between 2011 and 2014 to approximately 5,000. Additional Presidential decrees were issued in the subsequent years. In the period from 2014 to 2021, 10,271 stateless persons were granted Turkmen nationality. 54 U N H C R > G P P A C T I O N 1 : R E S O LV I N G E X I S T I N G M A J O R S I T U AT I O N S O F S TAT E L E S S N E S S