Tajikistan

In Tajikistan, the ethnic minority Mughat people face structural discrimination, and as a result have difficulty accessing birth registration. Much of the Mughat community has little to no access to personal documentation. Without their own documentation, parents are often unable to meet the requirements to obtain birth certificates for their children. A 2017 report to CERD revealed that when Mughat parents seek birth certificates so their children can begin school, teachers oftentimes had to serve as intermediaries between the government and Mughat communities. Multiple treaty bodies, the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and the UPR have made recommendations to improve the Mughat’s access to identity documentation in Tajikistan.