SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: CENTRAL ASIA TABLE 11 Citizenship stripping Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Kyrgyzstan 2019 (year start)548 2020 (year end)549 2021 (year end)550 2022 (year end)551 548 (0 at year end) 18 600 203 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. permanent residence permit as well as an official document verifying their stateless status.552 There is currently no legislation regarding the collection of quantitative data on stateless persons in Kyrgyzstan.553 Further, statelessness determination is not covered by a specific statelessness determination procedure placed down in legislation but rather under regulations that are limited in their scope and only apply to certain categories of persons. The current regulations do not align with international standards.554 Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness Further, children of stateless parents who are temporarily residing in Kyrgyzstan and those who are in the process of relinquishing their citizenship of another state to gain Kyrgyz citizenship have historically been at risk of statelessness.556 While recent amendments to citizenship laws should provide protection to these cohorts, their impact is yet to be seen. In Kyrgyzstan, citizenship laws have been amended to remove the requirement of written consent from parents of different citizenship in order to pass Kyrgyz citizenship to their child which had created the potential for children in this situation to remain stateless.557 Amendments have also been made to address a gap in legal protection that existed for children born to stateless parents who are not permanent residents of Kyrgyzstan, with the requirements of residence removed from Article 12 of the Law on Citizenship.558 Article 12 stipulates that children with one parent who is stateless or unknown and one parent who is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan will have citizenship of Kyrgyzstan, regardless of their birthplace.559 Further, jus soli provisions also provide that a child born in the territory whose parents or single parent are stateless will also be a citizen.560 Further, where a child is born on the territory of Kyrgyzstan to foreign parents or a single parent and the state of their citizenship fails to grant citizenship to the child, they will be considered a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.561 Foundling children are also provided with citizenship as per Article 12 of the Law.562 The nomadic Lyuli/Mugat community have low access to social services due to discrimination. While the Lyuli/Mugat community is largely no longer nomadic, their nomadic past meant that many members of the community never acquired documentation such as birth certificates. Further the citizenship laws have been amended to remove the requirement of written consent from parents of different citizenship in order to pass Kyrgyz citizenship to their child which had created the potential for children in this situation to remain stateless. Persons at risk of statelessness The nomadic Lyuli/Mugat community have low access to social services due to discrimination.555 While the Lyuli/Mugat community is largely no longer nomadic, their nomadic past meant that many members of the community never acquired documentation such as birth certificates. 54 Causes of Statelessness STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Kyrgyzstan has undertaken major amendments to the country’s citizenship laws to address a lack of safeguards against statelessness in the case of deprivation of citizenship.563 A Kyrgyz citizen may lose their nationality if they are found to be or have been involved in the commission of a terrorist crime.564 Article 41 of the Law on Citizenship provides that decisions regarding “citizenship may be appealed through the court” within six months of the decision.565 If this deadline is missed for a legitimate reason, an appeal may be filed.566 A Kyrgyz citizen may lose their nationality if they are found to be or have been involved in the commission of a terrorist crime Administrative barriers Although Kyrgyzstan does have a high birth registration rate at 98.9%567, over 18,000 children under the age of 5 are lacking birth registration which prevents their access to many basic services.568 Previously, in order to register a birth of a child, the parents had to show documentation proving their identity, which presented a barrier for the birth registration of children born to two parents without documentation.569 However, in June of 2023, a new law came into effect which ensures that all children are registered at birth regardless of the legal status of their parents.570 This new law also protects children who have already been born to stateless or undocumented parents as they will now also be eligible for birth registration.571 Certifying documents for citizenship in Kyrgyzstan include both a birth certificate and passport.572 As a result, increased access to birth registration is likely to increase access to citizenship for individuals and families affected by statelessness in Kyrgyzstan. While not an administrative barrier, increasing trends of unregistered marriages in rural areas is one reason why birth registration remains an issue.573 While women have equal access to birth registration in law, in practice oftentimes the equality is not there.574 in June of 2023, a new law came into effect which ensures that all children are registered at birth regardless of the legal status of their parents. This new law also protects children who have already been born to stateless or undocumented parents as they will now also be eligible for birth registration. REPORT 2024 55