Kyrgyzstan: Respect and Restore Civic Space
Сен 04.2024
Once known as the “island of democracy” in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has recently adopted a number of laws and practices severely curtailing civic space, including a Russia-style “foreign representatives” law, which drastically tightens control over foreign-funded human rights organisations. On the occasion of the Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its Kyrgyz member organization, Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan, and the Coalition for Equality reiterate their call to the Kyrgyz authorities to fully abide by their human rights obligations and to respect and restore civic space, allowing civil society to operate freely and safely.
Paris, Bishkek, 3 September 2024. 31 August 2024 marked the 32nd anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence from the Soviet Union. Since then, Kyrgyzstan became the first Central Asian State that accessed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as six other key international human rights treaties. Re-elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 for the third time, Kyrgyzstan has accepted a special responsibility to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”.
Yet, the human rights situation in Kyrgyzstan has deteriorated continuously over the recent months, with an unprecedented crackdown unleashed by the authorities on civil society. In particular, on 2 April 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov signed the Russia-inspired “foreign representatives” law, which stigmatizes and severely tightens control over human rights organizations receiving foreign funding, allowing the authorities to suspend and the courts to ultimately liquidate organizations that do not comply with the requirements set out in the law. As stressed by OHCHR, this law might compel NGOs to close or self-censor, leading to “legitimate public advocacy, human rights monitoring and reporting, and discussion of matters of public interest being seriously stifled.”
On 16 May 2024, FIDH’s member organization, Bir Duino, filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan, arguing that the “foreign representatives” law must be declared unconstitutional. However, the appeal was not accepted by the panel of judges. Bir Duino subsequently filed a complaint against the refusal to accept the appeal. It is currently pending before the Constitutional Court.
Additionally, since the adoption of the “False Information” law in August 2021, the authorities have proceeded to silence independent media in the country, including by blocking the websites of Radio Azattyk (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and the leading investigative media outlet Kloop Media, which was subsequently liquidated by the authorities, as confirmed by the Supreme Court on 29 August 2024. While the draft of the highly restrictive “Law on Mass Media” was withdrawn by the President over public criticism in March 2024, the situation remains alarming, with Kyrgyzstan ranking 120 out of 180 States in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index maintained by RSF.
FIDH, Bir Duino and the Coalition for Equality urgently call on the Kyrgyz authorities to fully abide by their human rights obligations, and to respect and restore civic space in Kyrgyzstan, including by ensuring a fair and independent judicial review of the “foreign representatives” law.. They also call on the international community to urge the Kyrgyz authorities, bilaterally and in multilateral fora, to repeal repressive legislation, such as the “foreign representatives” law, using all available political, diplomatic and economic means at their disposal.
