The international human rights organization Amnesty International published its report on the human rights situation for 2022-2023 in the world, in which a separate chapter is devoted to Kyrgyzstan. In the report, the authors listed the main violations of human rights in the republic.
As noted, peaceful demonstrators faced serious restrictions in Kyrgyzstan. New forms of reporting were introduced for NGOs receiving foreign funding. Journalists and activists critical of the government faced attacks on social media and baseless prosecutions. Various laws were used to restrict the right to freedom of expression and prevent criticism of public figures by journalists and the media.
«Gender-based violence remained systemic and under-reported; perpetrators of such violence were seldom prosecuted. Statistics on domestic violence continued to present aggregated data, thus obscuring the scale of violence against specific groups, including women and girls with disabilities,» the report reads.
In July, 27 women’s rights organizations wrote an open letter to the president demanding effective measures on violence against women and highlighting systemic problems in the criminal justice and law enforcement systems. Their request for an urgent meeting was not granted.
In March, the mayor’s office in the capital, Bishkek, restricted the locations where public assemblies could be held, banning the use of popular sites including the areas surrounding the parliament, the presidential administration and the Russian Embassy. Later that month, authorities banned all assemblies in central Bishkek, apart from in one small park.
Initially, the restriction was justified as temporary and necessary «to prevent and suppress possible mass riots on inter-ethnic basis» in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was later extended until December 31 and applied to any public civil actions and gatherings.
«In October, the authorities reported progress in agreeing border delimitation with Uzbekistan, although the details provoked strong public discontent. Activists formed a committee to oppose the agreement and demand transparency. Protests were also held elsewhere. The authorities responded by arresting 26 activists on baseless charges of «preparing mass disorders,» the report says.
On March 22, the tax authorities approved new rules for reporting on the use of foreign funds by not-for-profit organizations. NGOs were given one week to submit their reports, which had to include information on their assets, sources of funding and spending.
Freedom of expression was progressively restricted over the year, in particular for media workers and human rights defenders.
Amnesty International
In September, the government published a new draft bill that would authorize media restrictions in times of war and emergency, increase media registration requirements and extend them to online resources, and compel all media to re-register within two months of the law’s adoption. The draft was still pending adoption at the end of the year.
The authorities also used criminal charges of inciting hatred, disobedience, riots or violence to suppress freedom of expression, including by targeting media workers and preventing criticism of public figures by journalists and the media.
The National Centre for the Prevention of Torture raised concerns over the high number of deaths in penitentiary institutions. It noted that one third of pretrial detention centres were located in damp, dark and poorly ventilated basements.
In June, OHCHR, the UN human rights office, expressed concern over government plans to dissolve the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture, weakening torture prevention in Kyrgyzstan.
In general, as the authors of the report note, 2022 will be remembered in Europe and Central Asia as a year in which Russia waged a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, during which it committed war crimes and potential crimes against humanity, triggering the largest wave of refugees in Europe since World War II.
2022 may have been a turning point for the international order. But there was no turning point on the human rights front.
Amnesty International
«Russia’s aggression served to further destabilize an international multilateral system already weakened by decades of powerful states flouting international law with impunity. The war diverted resources and attention away from the climate crisis, other long-standing conflicts and human suffering the world over. The West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also underscored its own double standards, and its inconsequential reactions to so many other violations of the UN Charter. This in turn further fuelled instability and impunity,» the report says.
