Acquisition of nationality through naturalization UNHCR offered technical advice to the Turkmen Government during the 20042005 Refugee Registration Campaign, for instance by providing inputs on the type of biographical data to be collected. UNHCR also provided logistical and material assistance, including software, cars, laptops, cameras, printers and copying machines to help mobile units reach the affected population and conduct the registration. Once the exercise was completed, negotiations were conducted with the Government to find the best durable solution for these individuals. The Presidential Decree of August 2005 resulted in the naturalization of 16,298 persons who had been registered, of whom 11,200 were refugees. Turkmen Government’s initiative to resolve statelessness and collaboration with UNHCR With the experience gained from the 2004-2005 Refugee Registration Campaign, the Turkmen Government took the initiative to identify those with undetermined nationality in Turkmenistan, with the goal of regularizing their status and reducing statelessness. Government officials adopted a plan to identify the following categories of individuals: • Those who possessed Turkmen nationality pursuant to the provisions of the 1992 Nationality Law. • Those who possessed the nationality of another country, including individuals who held valid passports or certificates from foreign authorities attesting to their nationality of another State. • Those who were stateless. Depending on an individual’s circumstances, the goal of the identification and registration campaign was to provide documentation confirming Turkmen nationality of those who possessed it; grant permanent residence status to those who were nationals of other countries; and provide stateless persons the opportunity to apply for naturalization in Turkmenistan. The Turkmen authorities had already begun to identify and register persons with undetermined nationality in 2007. They adopted a streamlined process whereby all individuals whose bio-data was registered would concurrently fill out relevant 50 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