Open Statement by the Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan team during the EBRD Annual Meeting with Civil Society Yerevan, Armenia May 14-17, 2024.
Май 16.2024
Open Letter to European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
To the President of EBRD Ms. Odile Renaud-Basso, 13 May 2024
Subject: Urgent call to the EBRD to take action against Kyrgyzstan’s repressive “Foreign Representatives” law
We at Public Association Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan are reaching out to the EBRD to share our concerns and urge you to take action regarding the recently enacted law on “foreign representatives.” Despitefacing criticisms and protests, this law, which is said to be modelled on Russia’s repressive ‘foreign agent’ law, was approved in its third reading and ultimately adopted when the Kyrgyz President, Sadyr Japarov, signed it into law on 2 April 2024.
The law violates Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations pertaining to the right to freedom of association, freedom of expression, and other related human rights, particularly under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a treaty to which Kyrgyzstan is a party and has ratified. In 2023, the European Union (EU) passed a resolution calling on the government to review the repressive foreign representative law in Kyrgyzstan which is inconsistent with Kyrgyzstan’s international commitments.[1] UN representatives,[2] Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe,[3] US Department of State,[4] civil society, activists and other stakeholders have repeatedly called on the Kyrgyz government to withdraw the repressive law.
The controversial law requires all organisations that receive foreign funding and participate in vaguely defined “political activities” to register as “foreign representatives.” According to the legislation, the authorities could temporarily suspend the operations of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for six months without court approval, or forcibly deregister the organisation if it fails to register as a foreign representative. It further places them under burdensome requirements of reporting, monitoring, and unscheduled inspections by government authorities, adding to the already existing cumbersome obligations.
In addition, government officials would be allowed to demand internal documents from NGOs. They would also be able to send state representatives to partake in the internal activities of NGOs. Granting broad authority to government authorities to monitor and intervene in activities of non-profit organisations goes against international human rights standards. Unscheduled inspections could also potentially intimidate and harass organisations critical of the government.[5]
This legislation would inevitably cultivate an atmosphere of intimidation, deterring individuals such as activists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations (CSOs) from voicing their opinions due to the fear of retaliation. The enactment of this draft law also carries the potential for ripple effects on the landscape of civil society across other nations, rendering it an issue of regional significance. Georgia, another country where the EBRD invests in, has been following a similar practice of stifling dissent with introducing and pushing for the bill on “foreign agents.”[6]
The enactment of this repressive law will directly impede the projects funded by the EBRD in Kyrgyzstan, as it severely limits the meaningful participation and involvement of civil society organisations. Independent monitoring by civil society is crucial for ensuring projects meet environmental and social safeguards, human rights standards, and transparency requirements. Restricting civil society’s ability to openly raise concerns increases the chances of adverse impacts on local communities and the environment. The EBRD has an obligation to leverage its investments to uphold its environmental, social and governance policies and principles.
The law directly contradicts the EBRD’s stated aims in its current Kyrgyz Republic Country Strategy 2019-2024[7] of promoting a diverse civil society and democratic values in Kyrgyzstan. Enacting such a repressive law would represent a significant backsliding on the progress made when the previous “foreign agents” bill was withdrawn in 2016 following advocacy by the CSOs.
As the EBRD develops its new country strategy, it should make clear that the “foreign representatives” law is unacceptable and incompatible with Article 1 principles around multiparty democracy, pluralism and market economics. The formal consultation process with CSOs will be essentially meaningless if they are stifled by this law.
We appreciate the EBRD’s strong commitment to its Article 1[8] principles and the EBRD’s dedication to dialogue with civil society, including the recent engagement of the EBRD’s Vice President in his last visit to Kyrgyzstan with the representatives of civil society. We also appreciate the EBRD’s acknowledgement[9] of the issues raised in the letter[10]presented by Bir Duino and other organisations on this repressive law and EBRD’s commitment to monitor the situation and government’s attitude towards NGOs in practice.
Given the EBRD’s significant investment and project portfolio in Kyrgyzstan, amounting to 970 million euros across 242 projects[11], it is crucial that the Bank takes a firm and decisive stance against this repressive “foreign representatives” law, including by:
● Calling on the Kyrgyz government to withdraw this undemocratic legislation that stifles civil society voices and public accountability.
● Suspending all new financing for state agencies in Kyrgyzstan until the law is withdrawn, as it heightens the risk that projects will fail to meet required performance standards due to restricted opportunities for meaningful stakeholder engagement and monitoring.
● Promoting the protection of free speech of communities and human rights defenders from retaliation and reprisals in projects financed by the EBRD, such as the case of the Kumtor Gold Mine, highlighted in this report.[12] The EBRD should provide robust grievance and redressal mechanisms in cases of rights violations.
● Prioritising robust civil society consultations in developing EBRD’s next Kyrgyzstan Country Strategy to ensure projects and policies align with democratic principles and human rights standards.
● Raising concerns over shrinking civic space with the government of Kyrgyzstan to ensure that space for civil society and independent media remains open in the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with the recommendations of international human rights bodies.
With immense regards,
Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan team
President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso
Board of Governors of the EBRD
Executive directors of the EBRD
Kyrgyzstan “Foreign Representatives” Law and risk to the EBRD operations
May 12, 2024
On April 2, 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s President signed the Law on “Foreign Representatives” (known officially as the Law on Amendments to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Non Commercial Organizations). The full-scale implementation of the Law is expected to start after May 15, 2024, when the Ministry of Justice approves its implementing regulations.
The law requires CSOs that receive foreign funding and engage in broadly defined “political” activities to join a public register of “foreign representatives” and label their publications as produced by a foreign representative, thereby falsely stigmatizing them as foreign-controlled. They must also submit to costly financial reporting requirements and extensive state oversight that UN special rapporteurs[1]1 said “may amount to almost unrestricted administrative control.” Authorities can suspend nonprofits for up to 6 months and freeze their bank accounts without a court order for violations, and they can then be shuttered by a court. Disrupting foreign funding will endanger the existence of an independent civil society because foreign funding is the only source of funding for many CSOs in Kyrgyzstan. Urgent Interim Opinion from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)[2] states that “the law would silence critical voices in the country and have a stifling effect on society as a whole.”
The Law on “Foreign Representatives” goes against Kyrgyzstan’s commitment to the EBRD’s political mandate directed on supporting further development of the countries devout to the principles of multiparty democracy, pluralism and market economics. This new Law is in direct contradiction with the objectives of the EBRD’s Performance Requirement 10: Stakeholder Engagement. The law on “Foreign Representatives”, recently adopted in Kyrgyzstan, puts under direct risk any stakeholder engagement and any meaningful participation in consultations. The law creates a climate of fear, preventing people, including CSOs, from speaking out due to fear of reprisals. Therefore, it will threaten future projects financed by the EBRD, severely limiting the EBRD and its clients’ ability to carry out safe and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
Ongoing and future projects that the EBRD might have in Kyrgyzstan would be at a much greater risk of corruption if civil society is gutted, thereby ending its role as a watchdog and key contributor to public accountability. The EBRD further runs the risk of potential social and environmental harms going unnoticed because whistleblowers, human rights defenders, and CSOs remain silent out of fear. This will enable the government to operate with little attention given to accountability measures or prevention and mitigation of social and environmental impacts of investment projects and minimal engagement on anti-corruption issues.
We approach your institution because the law poses a serious threat to the success of your future operations in the country and because we hope that your institution can help prevent further deterioration of civic space by reaching out and expressing concerns to the Kyrgyz authorities. We urge the EBRD to:
- Publicly express your position on the Law on “Foreign Representatives” and its implications on the bank’s operations in Kyrgyzstan, considering that the law undermines the EBRD’s commitments under the Article 1 of the Establishing Agreement.
- Clearly underline in Annex 1 “Political Assessment in the Context of Article 1” of the new Country Strategy for Kyrgyzstan the risks which the adoption of the Law on “Foreign Representatives” poses for implementation of the requirements under Bank’s Environmental and Social Policy including for meaningful stakeholder engagement that should take place in an atmosphere free of retaliation and fear of reprisals.
- Raise concerns over shrinking civic space with the government of Kyrgyzstan to ensure that space for civil society and independent media remains open in the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with the recommendations of international human rights bodies.
- Request that the Kyrgyzstani authorities commit to preventing harassment, intimidation, and violence against human rights defenders, activists, and journalists.
- Recommend the establishment of regular, structured dialogues between government officials, IFIs, CSOs, and the media to discuss and review policy and legislation impacting civil society space and media freedom. This could be facilitated through workshops, roundtable discussions, or advisory councils.
With best regards,
- Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan, director Tolekan Ismailova, birduinotia@gmail.com
- Lira Asylbek, Coalition for Equality, c.equality.kg@gmail.com
- Adil Turdukulov, TV Academy Production studio, kg.komitet@gmail.com
- Ilgiz Kambarov, Green Alliance Kyrgyzstan
- Bermet Borubaeva, Bishkek Smog Initiative, borubaeva.bermet@mail.ru
- Sharmila Mona Sinha, Global Executive Director, Equality Now, msinha@equalitynow.org
- Rada Valentina kyzy, urban initiative Peshcom (Kyrgyzstan), peshcombishkek@gmail.com
- Maria Kolesnikova, Public Association “MoveGreen” movegreen.bishkek.kg@gmail.com
- Nurzhan Chunueva, “Urban Hub” community, chunuevan@gmail.com
