1. Reported Stateless Persons
In 2022, there were 5,391 reported stateless persons in Tajikistan, which is a decrease of 719 stateless persons from the reported population in 2021. However, the reported population has overall increased by 775 people since the beginning of 2019.
Like all countries in Central Asia, Tajikistan has been directly affected by the disintegration of the USSR which left millions on the wrong side of the borders of fifteen new successor states. Those who have not yet gained citizenship of Tajikistan after the disintegration make up a major portion of the reported stateless population in Tajikistan. Further, Tajikistan experienced a civil war throughout the 1990s that caused economic and political hardship and resulted in displacement that left some people stateless. Statelessness in Tajikistan is also partly attributed to legislative and administrative gaps.
While Tajikistan has launched identification campaigns across different regions of the country, insufficient infrastructure in the country has presented a major challenge for identifying individuals affected by statelessness. This is especially problematic due to the fact that the majority of stateless communities in Tajikistan live in remote border areas. Official statistics on stateless persons in Tajikistan only includes individuals who have a permanent residence permit as well as an official document verifying their stateless status.
Women make up 65% of the reported stateless population in Tajikistan, which has been noted to be a result of women disproportionately lacking valid identity documents compared to men. Male family members tend to be the first to receive the limited resources available to rural families where rates of statelessness are higher.
Country | 2019 (year start) | 2020 (year end) | 2021 (year end) | 2022 (year end) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tajikistan | 4,616 | 6,385 | 6,110 | 5,391 |
Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022.
2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness
Populations at risk of statelessness in Tajikistan include foreign citizens who are in the process of applying for citizenship of the Republic, children born to stateless parents or parents with undetermined nationality who do not have permanent residence. Tajikistan also hosts some of the Lyuli/Mughat ethnic group, recognized in Tajikistan as the Roma/Jughi, who face socioeconomic discrimination and barriers to social services which increase their risk of statelessness.
3. Tajikistan’s Pledges to End Statelessness
Tajikistan made four pledges pertaining to statelessness at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in 2019.The pledges included committing to consider legalization of persons illegally residing in Tajikistan (Amnesty Law), reform the Civil Registration System and ensure safeguards for universal child birth registration, consider ratification of the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on statelessness, and “explore the scale of statelessness through identification of persons at risk of statelessness, stateless persons and persons with undetermined nationality.
On this, Tajikistan has successfully enacted a new Amnesty Law and reform the Civil Registration System, but did not follow through in ratifying the Conventions on statelessness or improving its identification of stateless persons. One of the key protection issues, challenges, and recommendations included in Tajikistan’s 2021 UPR submission was universal birth registration. It was noted that parents who lack identity documents may have difficulty registering their child’s birth in practice. Recommendations on this include amending the Law on Civil Registration to ensure there are no barriers for parents without identity documents and “raise awareness of the importance of birth registration and birth certificates, especially in rural areas”.