The Central Asian Network on Statelessness
Partners of UNHCR met in 2016 in Almaty to establish the Central Asian Network of Statelessnes.
FVLWB is a co-founder and host organization of the Central Asian Network of Statelessness (CANS), established in 2016 to enhance regional cooperation in reducing statelessness in Central Asia. The Network unites 15 organizations, including NGOs, academia, and media, from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
6th Meeting of CANS Members in Bukhara, Uzbekistan in 2022
CANS develops and runs awareness-raising, education, and research campaigns to contribute to reducing statelessness in the region. In 2017, in partnership with UNHCR, CANS delivered open lectures for students at Al-Farabi University in Kazakhstan to increase awareness and interest in researching statelessness. In 2020, the Network hosted a competition for the best research papers on statelessness among students and is currently working with regional universities to develop a course on the subject. To bring public attention to the issue, the Network conducted training sessions for journalists across the region on reporting statelessness. These trainings were part of UNHCR’s global “I Belong” campaign, supported by Internews and the European Union.
The chapter focused on Central Asia from the Global Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on stateless people
CANS studies statelessness and proposes strategies and recommendations to reduce and eliminate its causes. In 2021, the Network contributed to the Global Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on stateless people, specifically providing insights for the chapter focused on Central Asia.CANS established an internal referral system to help its members from various regions address cases of stateless persons. This system has proven to be an effective way of enhancing communication and providing assistance, recognizing that statelessness is a regional problem extending beyond national borders.FVLWB, as a host of CANS, conducted a study tour for representatives of Tajikistan, who studied Kyrgyzstan’s experience in implementing the Campaign to Reduce Statelessness. The success of this study tour led to a similar campaign in Tajikistan, which identified 36,000 stateless persons and naturalized more than 33,000 people between 2016 and 2018.In 2023, CANS co-organized the Global Refugee Forum Linked Event Multi-Stakeholder Approaches Towards Ending Statelessness in December 2023 in Geneva.CANS closely collaborates with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and sister network organizations such as the European Network on Statelessness, Statelessness Network Asia Pacific, and Namati, a global NGO convening the Grassroots Justice Network.For further information, please visit www.centans.net