Turkmenistan

UNHCR in Turkmenistan
Basic Facts

Office: The Representation is in Ashgabat, and was opened in 1995.

Programmes in Ashgabat (the capital), Lebap, Akhal, and Dashoguz provinces.

Refugees and asylum seekers: as of February, 2012

Refugees: 59 persons

Voluntary repatriation: Since its establishment the Office in Turkmenistan organised and implemented voluntary repatriation of 6,008 refugees to their countries of origin, mostly to Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Local integration: Over 10,000 former Tajik refugees had become citizens of Turkmenistan in 2005.

Resettlement: The Office in Turkmenistan organised resettlement of 1,051 refugees.

Stateless persons: 11,000 (unofficial date, based on information from the State Migration Service. The number represents "persons with undetermined nationality", many of who are still in the process of confirminf their (non) nationality.

2011 budget: 811,889 USD

2012 budget:  1,594,784 USD

Projects and partners:

• Prevention and reduction of statelessness - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Migration Service, Ministry of Interior, Parliament, local authorities.
• Capacity building of government institutions - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Migration Service, State Border guards Service, National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. 
• Legal and social assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers - 4 Legal Clinics of national NGO "Keik Okara", Chidlren's Fund of Turkmenistan.
• Medical assistance - Children's Fund of Turkmenistan.
• Repatriation and resettlement - State Migration Service, Border guards Service, IOM.
• Census project - State Statistics Committee, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia
  
• Protection of women's rights - national NGO "Keik Okara".

For more detailed information please download External Fact Sheet here.

February 2012