Representatives of the governments of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan gathered in Tashkent to reaffirm their commitment to registering every child at birth in their territories.

The conference was organized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in cooperation with the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights.

Statelessness is a situation in which no state recognizes a person as its citizen. This problem affects millions of people around the world, including more than 37,000 in Central Asia alone. Stateless people are often denied access to basic rights such as education, employment, health care, and freedom of movement.

Birth registration is the first and most important step in ensuring legal status and enabling people to actively participate in society's development. It allows people to pay taxes, healthcare, and social security contributions and contributes to the sustainable development of their communities.

Mr. Akmal Saidov, Director of the National Center for Human Rights, noted that in 2018, Uzbekistan amended its legislation to guarantee birth registration for all children born on the territory, and in the last five years alone, the number of stateless persons has been reduced by more than 75 percent.

“Providing legal identity documents for all, including birth registration, is enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is respected by all Central Asian countries as UN member states”, emphasized Ashita Mittal, Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan. 

She noted that the UN commends Central Asian countries’ significant achievements in reducing and eradicating statelessness and is ready to support states in ensuring that forcibly displaced and stateless persons are not left behind and can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

At the conference, it was noted that in 2014, UNHCR launched the #IBelong global campaign to end statelessness. As the ten-year campaign ends in 2024, governments worldwide are advancing in this direction.

Norgul Abduraimova, UzA