AKIPRESS.COM - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees hosted a two-day event with the law enforcement authorities in the Kyrgyz Republic on international protection of refugees and statelessness eradication this week. Attended by 20 decision-making level officials, the workshop was designed to review the international humanitarian principles as well as national procedures protecting the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons. Through open discussions, the participants reaffirmed the importance of identification and documentation of every person on the territory, UNHCR said.

“This is a very important event for our national security,” Mr. Adilet Djanuzakov, Inspector of the Defense, Law Enforcement and Emergency Situations Unit in the Prime Minister’s Office said in his opening statement to the participants. “It offers a unique opportunity to strengthen relations with UNHCR and also between various law enforcement agencies.”

“We have indeed identified areas that need to be improved, particularly on the issues of statelessness and citizenship, which we hope to address further,” he added in his concluding remarks.

On the first day, the participants reviewed the international protection principles and actual refugee determination procedures in the country. In a simulations exercise that followed, the participants worked to identify between refugees, persons at risk of statelessness and irregular migrants -- roles played by UNHCR staff. On the second day, the officials reviewed case studies of potential stateless persons and discussed ways to identify and address their situations.

“Everyone has the right to state protection. Refugees are those who can no longer enjoy protection from his/her country of origin, while stateless persons are those without any record of his/her existence anywhere and therefore cannot receive social protection from any state,” said Ms. Maki Shinohara, UNHCR Representative. “Refugees, persons at risk of statelessness and migrants must be identified and their solutions addressed separately. UNHCR’s mandate and expertise can assist the Kyrgyz government in identifying people, even if they are found to be without valid documents.”

A joint outreach program between UNHCR and State Registration Service since 2014, has so far identified some 11,000 persons at risk of statelessness on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, of whom nearly 8,000 cases have been resolved through documentation or citizenship acquisition. UNHCR supports the Kyrgyz government to address legislative and administrative improvements for the prevention of statelessness.