ҚАЗАҚСТАН РЕСПУБЛИКАСЫНЫҢ 1954 ЖӘНЕ 1961 ЖЫЛДАРҒЫ БҰҰ-НЫҢ АЗАМАТТЫҒЫ ЖОҚТЫҚ ЖӨНІНДЕГІ КОНВЕНЦИЯЛАРЫНА ҚОСЫЛУ ПЕРСПЕКТИВАЛАРЫ: ҚҰҚЫҚТЫҚ АЛҒЫШАРТТАРЫ МЕН САЛДАРЫ

Abstract

The article assesses the legal readiness of the Republic of Kazakhstan to accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in light of recent national legal developments. The relevance of the study is determined by the establishment of a dedicated statelessness determination procedure, nationwide documentation campaigns, the 2025 incorporation into the Law on Citizenship of the principles of the right to a nationality, the best interests of the child, and the prevention and reduction of statelessness, as well as the entry into force of the new Constitution on 1 July 2026. The purpose of the study is to determine the degree of compatibility of Kazakhstan's legislation with the key requirements of both Conventions and to formulate a minimum package of legislative amendments required for accession. The research applies formal legal, comparative legal, systemic and treaty-compatibility methods. The study finds that Kazakhstan has a high level of institutional and normative readiness for accession, while several targeted gaps remain: the national formulation of statelessness does not fully reproduce the Convention definition; there is no universal safeguard for a child who would otherwise be stateless; safeguards are required when parents change nationality and when nationality is renounced or deprived; and recognized stateless persons do not benefit from a dedicated facilitated naturalization regime. The scientific novelty lies in reassessing the 2022 conclusions in view of the 2024-2026 reforms and proposing an author's model of targeted amendments that would allow accession without restructuring the existing citizenship system.