Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)B
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONS Local
Target Start Date2023-10-02
Job Posting End DateSeptember 19, 2023
Terms of ReferenceGeneral Background of Project or Assignment:
In 2019 and 2021, Kyrgyzstan took 6 pledges on addressing issues relating to refugees and stateless persons:
• By the end of 2020, adopt regulation for determining the legal status of a stateless person;
• By the end of 2020, provide birth registration certificates to children who do not have birth registration;
• Align national birth registration legislation with international standards to ensure registration of birth of every child born in the Kyrgyz Republic;
• Study the experience of other State parties to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness.
• Issuance and provision of machine-readable travel documents for refugees and stateless persons recognized by the Kyrgyz Republic in line with ICAO standards.
• Access to healthcare and social protection to refugees and asylum-seekers on par with citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In 2021-2023, the Kyrgyz Republic aligned its national legislation with international standards to and introduced universal birth registration of every child, including those born to undocumented or stateless parents who were previously not able to obtain a birth certificate. The Kyrgyz Republic is progressing on the issue of the legal status of stateless person. The amendments to the Law on Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic aligned the definition of a stateless person with provisions of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and introduced safeguards against statelessness in citizenship renunciation. With the adoption of the amendments in respective laws, the bylaws are now being amended to reflect the necessary changes accordingly.
In late 2022, the representatives of various authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic visited Georgia to study its experience on statelessness issues after accession to the two Statelessness Conventions. The fact that the number of de-jure stateless persons in the Kyrgyz Republic has fluctuated from 10 at end 2019 to 600 at end 2021 and stands at close to 200 at end 2022, requires more effective preventative measures, which can be achieved through the standards set by the Statelessness Conventions.
In Kyrgyzstan, as of June 2023, there were 255 refugees and 775 asylum-seekers in the Kyrgyz Republic. 137 refugees were recognized by the State under the 1951 Convention and the National Law on Refugees, while 118 refugees were recognized on an individual basis under the UNHCR mandate. UNHCR proposed Kyrgyzstan to consider alternative solutions for the Mandate refugees in regularization of their stay for the past several years.
As one of the efforts made towards finding solution for our beneficiaries, UNHCR prepared and shared with all relevant state authorities a study on the financial implications on the state budget in case of granting these refugees citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, which revealed that regularization of their stay will significantly contribute to the state budget, rather than entail additional expenses. However, 3 submitted applications did not even get to the committee not being able to pass procedural requirements regarding legal stay or valid national document.
On 31 May RBAP Director met with Deputy Chair of the Government Mr. Baisalov, who positively responded to the request to consider durable solutions for mandate refugees. Instruction came from the Administration of the President to propose ways to resolve this issue. He also positively addressed the issue of accession to the Statelessness Conventions. There is an urgent need to keep the momentum and follow up on these political commitments.
Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
The objectives of this consultancy are as follows:
Taking into account international standards and good practices, in particular related to eradication and prevention of statelessness and support to stateless persons and refugees, the consultant will support the MDD’s efforts related to the following issues:
a. Finalization and support of adoption of the Regulations on Citizenship.
b. Support developing and finalizing Statelessness Determination Procedure regulation.
c. Support developing regulations related to travel documents of stateless persons and refugees.
d. Facilitation of process of accession to Statelessness conventions.
e. Facilitation and advocacy with respective government authorities on the naturalization of mandate refugees.
f. Facilitation of development and approval of the MDD’s pledges to the 2023 GRF meeting.
Required level, qualifications and work experience:
The legal consultant should possess the following qualifications and experience:
a. A degree in law or a related field.
b. Proven experience in and knowledge of legislation on citizenship and statelessness, ability to apply the same in practice; at least two years of experience working on citizenship issues (drafting of laws and regulations on citizenship, legal advice);
c. Knowledge of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of citizenship and protection of human rights.
d. Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to collect, process, and analyze qualitative and quantitative data.
e. Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to write and negotiate effectively.
f. Good negotiation skills proven by previous experience.
g. Fluency in Russian and Kyrgyz, including written and spoken proficiency.
Monitoring and Progress Controls (report requirements, periodicity, format, deadlines):
The legal consultant will be responsible for delivering the following outputs:
a. A finalized Regulations on Citizenship;
b. a finalized Statelessness Determination Procedure Regulation;
c. A finalized regulations on travel documents of stateless persons
d. Inputs to the regulations on travel documents for refugees and supporting the Ministry of Digital Development coordination with the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration.
d. Facilitation and advocacy with respective government authorities to ensure by the end of assignment positive consideration of the respective government authorities on the issue of acceding to the Statelessness conventions.
e. The mandate refugees can effectively access the citizenship procedure.
f. Facilitation and advocacy with the Ministry of Digital Development with the aim to ensure that by the end of assignment relevant pledges for the 2023 GRF meeting are approved.
Standard Job Description
Required Languages Russian
,Kyrgyz
,
Desired Languages
,
,
Additional Qualifications
SkillsAnalytical Thinking, Communication, Facilitation, Negotiation, Organizing Meetings, Persuasive Negotiation, Researching
EducationBachelor of Arts (BA): Law
Certifications
Work ExperienceWork Context: Interagency Coordination
Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance