Human rights defenders of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan will develop a common strategy for responding to and countering risks and disasters in Central Asia.

During three days of the training for trainers (ToT) the CA human rights defenders, women leaders from the two countries improved their skills in managing conflicts that arise when the human rights agenda is being promoted.

Among the covered topics were increasing attacks on freedom of expression, pressure on journalists and activists, laws, impunity, adoption of laws that restrict the political space, growth of religious fundamentalism and the impact of the situation in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus on the region.

The participants worked on finding new communication channels, the issue of the need for independent monitoring and documentation of human rights violations, and the development of action plans specific to Central Asian countries.

The focus was on the rights of women living in border conflict areas, the empowerment of women in religion and climate change in the context of gender issues.

The participants emphasized the need to implement National Action Plans based on the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.  They proposed to create a platform for dialogue and joint problem solving in times of risks and disasters.  This approach will allow women to participate in peacekeeping and work to eliminate social, cultural and political barriers.

Anara Ibraeva, Head of the human rights organization Kadir-Kasiyet (Dignity), shared Kazakhstan's experience in promoting the law on human rights defenders and advocacy campaigns to promote the said draft law.

Benny Agus Prima, Head of the Human Rights Defenders Program of FORUM-ASIA, the largest regional network of human rights organizations in the Asia-Pacific region, informed the participants about the situation with the rights of human rights defenders and spoke about current trends. He presented the legislative practice regulating the rights of civil activists and the new law on human rights defenders, which was adopted by the Parliament of Mongolia.

Shivangi Chavda, Regional Coordinator of the Global Network of SCOs for Disaster Reduction, emphasized the importance of the full involvement of local community leaders in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of local action plans for protection against risks and disasters.

Inga Sikorskaya, Director of the School of Peacemaking and Media Technologies in Central Asia, taught human rights defenders strategic communications in peacetime and during conflicts and the creation of key messages to inform the audience.

According to Bermet Stakeeva from the Forum of Women's NGOs, the training was unique since it provided the opportunity to develop the methods of responding to real crisis situations. Development of a strategic communication model allowed the training participants to master the skills of analysis and media planning.

"I'm going to use these tools in my work when conducting seminars in rural women's communities. The training helped me better understand what kind of training modules should be created for my target group."

Jamilya Kaparova, Director of the public association Ensan Diamond, which trains women in the border areas of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, stated that she would transfer the knowledge gained at the seminar through the implementation of training seminars on women's equality at the local level.

"I will start adapting my training program and in the near future I will train women activists," she said.

Lira Asylbek, coordinator of WLP-Kyrgyzstan (Human Rights Movement:Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan), mentioned that the ToT program was based on Beyond Equality, WLP's Manual for Human Rights Defenders. The manual offers tools for dialogue about the importance of human rights, advancement of women, promotion of reforms and new global challenges. This requires an inclusive approach to the promotion of rights, freedoms and gender equality for equal access of CA women leaders to politics and resources.

Summing up the results of the training, the participants expressed their solidarity regarding the need to create a joint action strategy for the promotion and protection of human rights, taking into account new risks in region and the adaptation of the law on human rights defenders in the CA region, approved further steps to develop partnership in Central Asia, including an online training plan for activists, and also studied strategic communication tools in the period of crises and conflicts in the CA region.

For any questions, please contact: birduinokyrgyzstan@gmail.com