(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2019)

There is no region of the world unaffected by statelessness, particularly given the annual increase in refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants. That’s why it was big news when UNICEF and UNHCR jointly announced that since 2014, Kyrgyzstan has identified more than 13,700 stateless persons and persons with undetermined nationality and provided them with birth registration or citizenship. Thanks in large part to the work of a team of dedicated Kyrgyz lawyers, one of whom was awarded the 2019 Nansen Refugee Award, thousands of otherwise undocumented peoples now have access to formal employment, social protections and legally guaranteed rights.