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UNHCR aims at ending statelessness worldwide by end-2024

Today UNHCR conducted a briefing for the media, aimed at exploring the statelessness phenomenon in the region and Kazakhstan, and presented first results of the informational campaign conducted in the country.

According to UNHCR estimations, there are at least ten million people worldwide are stateless and a baby is born stateless every ten minutes. Statelessness can mean a life without education, without medical care or legal employment, a life without the ability to move freely, without prospects or hope. In November 2014, UNHCR launched a worldwide “I Belong” campaign, aimed at ending within 10 years the problem of statelessness – a devastating legal limbo for the millions of people worldwide who lack any nationality and the human rights protections that go with it.

In Central Asia UNHCR also launched this campaign, since statelessness remains a challenge for the countries. There are reportedly 30,000 stateless people, and the main causes of statelessness in the region are dissolution of USSR, cross-border movements, and mixed marriages.  The number of undocumented persons in Kazakhstan differs from one source to another. For instance, according to the Migration police, the number of stateless persons officially registered as of 1 Jan 2014, is around 7,000 people. However, the exact number is unknown, and some governmental sources are saying that the number can range from 20,000 to 50,000.  

Informational campaign, conducted from July to December 2014, was aimed at identifying the number of undocumented people residing in the country and later on finding legal solutions to resolve their situation, such as access to naturalization, basic rights, including medical services, education, opportunity to travel and others. UNHCR and its partner, Kazakhstan Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, established a call – center.  Professional lawyers were consulting people and received more than 50 calls a day. The majority of persons were calling from Karaganda, East-Kazakhstan, South-Kazakhstan, Almaty and Akmola oblasts.  56% of undocumented callers are man and 44% are women. Callers were represented by different nationalities, and 60% of called undocumented persons indicated that they have been born in Kazakhstan. As for the reasons of statelessness, the callers identified lack of time and financial limitations and inability to travel and provide required documents.  

“Countries of Central Asia are making efforts to reduce statelessness. However, there are challenges left, and the main challenge is to take measure to avoid the appearance of new cases of statelessness, through legislative amendments.”- added Eduardo Yrezabal, UNHCR Deputy Representative for Kazakhstan.

More details of UNHCR’s campaign to end statelessness can be found at:  ibelong.unhcr.org