Operations

69	Number of personnel (international and national)
5	Number of offices
63,667	Estimated number of people of concern (PoC)
14.7 Mio	Overall funding requirements (ExCom-approved 2016 budget)

A. Operational Environment and Strategy

In the last 25 years, Central Asia has experienced considerable population movements within and outside the region, prompted by a civil war and various inter-ethnic conflicts which cumulatively led to the displacement of nearly 1 million people. These forced displacement patterns were resolved with the help of the international community.
 
Today, there are some 3,000 refugees in Central Asia who require the assistance of governments in the region and the international community to find solutions. In addition, Central Asia is home to a considerable stateless population. It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 stateless people, individuals at risk of statelessness, or people of undetermined nationality in Central Asia.
 
The subregion remains susceptible to sudden, large-scale displacement due to natural disasters and inter-ethnic conflict. The latter is especially prevalent in the Fergana Valley where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet.
 
Governments of the region continue to collaborate with UNHCR and others, but are concerned by the situation in Afghanistan and the rising influence of extremism in economically weak rural areas.  UNHCR continues to support the governments to ensure access to effective procedures for all asylum-seekers.

B. Response and Implementation

In 2016, UNHCR will focus on advocacy, capacity building, the continued development of legal frameworks, as well as the gradual inclusion of protection and social needs of all populations of concern in national systems. The Office will continue its work with other international actors, including development agencies, to mainstream refugee and statelessness issues into their programmes and collaborate with UN agencies (particularly UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA) on asylum-seeker registration, birth registration, training of border guards and promoting livelihoods.
 
Kazakhstan hosts approximately 660 refugees and 170 asylum-seekers, as well as almost 7,040 people at risk of statelessness. UNHCR will support the Government to establish a mechanism for the referral of asylum-seekers by border guards to State authorities. The Office will continue to advocate for legislative amendments to allow refugees full enjoyment of their basic rights. UNHCR will also continue to advocate for legislative changes to prevent new cases of statelessness, while working on reducing the existing stateless population.
 
In Kyrgyzstan, UNHCR will work to achieve protection and durable solutions for all people of concern through further building the capacity of State legislative and judicial bodies, border officials and Government status determination actors. Strengthening asylum systems and further improvement of State protection policies will be emphasized. Targeted local integration possibilities will be sought for refugees. A significant reduction in statelessness is expected in 2016, through the efforts of a national working group on statelessness led by the Government, which is also undertaking registration and providing documentation. Support will continue for accession to the statelessness conventions.
 
In Tajikistan, UNHCR will capitalize on strengthened partnership with the Government to promote refugees’ access to livelihoods and self-reliance, with the aim of finding solutions through local integration and voluntary repatriation. UNHCR will also support efforts to strengthen the national asylum procedure and establish border management safeguards, with a focus on the Tajik-Afghan border. Confirmation of citizenship for over 12,000 stateless people identified in 2014-2015 will be prioritized, following the passage of the Constitutional Law on Nationality in 2015. 
 
In Turkmenistan, UNHCR will focus on amending the asylum legislation and strengthening protection-sensitive screening procedures, State referral mechanisms and reception facilities. Resources will also be allocated to enhance the capacity of the Government in refugee protection. UNHCR will prioritize activities to reduce statelessness and work with the Government to resolve the legal status of some 7,000 people without citizenship.
 
In Uzbekistan, refugees will continue to benefit from a joint UNHCR and UNDP project for provision of assistance to vulnerable individuals. In addition, UNHCR will continue to assess individual cases in order to identify durable solutions for the residual refugee caseload.