From April 7 to April 11, representatives of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child — Deputy Chair Bragi Gudbrandsson and committee member Thuwayba Al Barwani — are on a working visit to Kyrgyzstan. The main goal of the visit is to discuss pressing challenges in the area of child rights protection and to strengthen international cooperation.
A meeting of the delegation with representatives of the country’s judicial and law enforcement systems took place at the Prosecutor General’s Office. Deputy Chair of the Supreme Court, Nurgul Bakirova, presented a report on the role of the judiciary in protecting the rights of minors.
According to her, 302 cases of child rights violations were recorded in the country in 2023, and 333 have already been registered in 2024. A significant increase has been noted in cases of sexual violence, especially against girls aged 14 to 18.
Nurgul Bakirova emphasized that, in addition to physical and psychological abuse, the judicial system also focuses on economic violence — particularly, the evasion of child support obligations. The Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic prescribes strict penalties for failing to provide for underage children.
She expressed confidence in the need for continued development of legal and institutional mechanisms for child rights protection, and stressed the importance of interagency cooperation and international collaboration in this field.
The UN delegation commended Kyrgyzstan’s efforts in protecting children’s rights and expressed their readiness to continue a constructive dialogue.
