The Delegation of the European Union to Kyrgyzstan issued a statement in which it commended the work of the Ombudswoman Atyr Abdrakhmatova on an annual report for 2022.
The statement says that the European Union Delegation in Kyrgyzstan welcomes the 2022 Annual Report of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, which is in line with the country’s pledges in the UN General Assembly (resolution 60/251), related to the Human Rights Council.
«The commitments to strengthen and build the potential and capacity of national human rights institutions to carry out their mandates effectively and independently as well as to strengthen the independence of the office of the Ombudsman, in line with the Paris Principles, once again illustrating the leading role that Kyrgyzstan holds in the region in terms of open public discussion on human rights challenges in the country,» the EU Delegation said.
The European Union Delegation commends the work of the Ombudsman on a robust report, which also identifies the root causes of human rights violations thus further demonstrating the importance of the role of the Ombudsman Office in maintaining the rule of law and strengthening the further development of human rights in society as a whole.
The European Union Delegation encourages Kyrgyzstan to be in line with its pledges and commitments in the Human Rights Council and continue to strengthen the independence of national human rights institutions, like the Ombudsman’s Office, and to ambitiously pursue status A of this vital institution, according to the Paris Principles.
On April 19, the deputies interrupted the report of the ombudswoman on the state of human rights and freedoms in Kyrgyzstan. She was not allowed to finish, she was not asked questions. Instead of discussing the report, the Parliament decided to return to the topic of the early resignation of Atyr Abdrakhmatova in a week.
In her report on the situation with the protection of human rights in Kyrgyzstan, the Ombudsman noted that the existence of an alternative opinion and the possibility of its free expression is the basis of the right to freedom of speech. According to her, state bodies should first of all show political maturity and wisdom, refusing intolerance to alternative opinions.
Atyr Abdrakhmatova believes that it is important for the state to create conditions for the active and free work of journalists, to exclude the possibility of law enforcement agencies abusing their powers and putting pressure on the media.
