The Kyrgyz parliament should reject a highly repressive draft law that would interfere with the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
The law would require organizations to register with the Justice Ministry as «foreign representatives» if they receive funding from abroad and engage in political activity.
On May 19, 2023, parliament members registered Making Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic for consideration, known as the draft law on «Foreign Representatives» or foreign agents draft law.
Failure to register under the law could result in suspension of the organization’s activities, including its banking operations, for up to 6 months or until it is registered.
As the human rights activists note, this requirement is clearly intended to discredit and stigmatize groups that receive foreign funding and could have a chilling effect on the country’s civil society at a time when it is already under attack.
«The draft law is incompatible with international human rights obligations, restricting freedom of association and expression, as well as introducing in some cases criminal liability for nongovernmental organizations and their staff members,» said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. «The draft law poses a serious threat to Kyrgyzstan’s vibrant civil society and should be withdrawn.»
The draft law’s vague and overbroad definition of political activity as «actions aimed at changing state policy and shaping public opinion for these purposes» poses a particular risk for civic activism in Kyrgyzstan, where increasingly freedom of association and freedom of expression have come under attack in the last year.
These measures threaten to silence the voices of organizations that play a crucial role in promoting human rights, democracy, and social justice in Kyrgyzstan.
Human Rights Watch
The draft law was initially submitted for public consideration in November 2022 by Nadira Narmatova, but later withdrawn. In May, 32 other members joined Narmatova as co-signers and it was resubmitted.
As the HRW stresses, the draft law contradicts Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. While certain limitations of the rights to freedom of expression and association are permissible under international law, they must be provided by a clear and accessible law and be necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim. The current draft law does not meet this test and would impose undue restrictions on these rights.
Kyrgyzstan’s international partners, in particular the European Union, the United States, and the United Nations, should publicly express their concern about the negative consequences of the legislation and urge President Sadyr Japarov not to sign it into law should it pass the parliament, HRW says.
The draft law is also inconsistent with Kyrgyzstan’s commitments to uphold its international human rights obligations at home and abroad, made in February 2023 when it became a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
«If passed, this draft law will have a chilling effect on Kyrgyzstan’s civil society organizations, limiting their ability to advocate for human rights, provide social services, and contribute to the development of a robust and inclusive society. Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation will suffer as a result,» Sultanalieva added.
