Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Unaddressed human rights problems and new setbacks marred Kyrgyzstan's rights record in 2015. Authorities targeted and harassed some human rights groups, journalists, and lawyers. Impunity for ill-treatment and torture persist, and there is still no justice for victims of interethnic violence in 2010. Human rights defender Azimjon Askarov is still wrongfully serving a life sentence. Domestic violence against women and girls is prevalent, and multiple barriers hinder survivors from accessing help or justice. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face discrimination and harassment. Draft laws discriminating against LGBT people and restricting the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) advanced further in parliament. Kyrgyzstan held parliamentary elections in October, which international observers found to be “competitive.” In August, Kyrgyzstan became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, a common market of five Eurasian states, led by Russia. The election monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) found that October's parliamentary elections were “competitive and provided voters with a wide range of choice,” but had concerns about the inclusiveness of the voter list, ballot secrecy, and significant procedural problems. In November 2014, rights defenders challenged the constitutionality of a 2014 law requiring citizens to submit biometric data as a prerequisite to vote. Parliament in May dismissed Klara Sooronkulova, a judge in the Constitutional Chamber of Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court, after she was accused of publicly sharing her views on the law before the Constitutional Chamber issued its ruling. In September, the Constitutional Chamber found the law constitutional. The president of the Council of Europe's Venice Commission called on Kyrgyzstan to introduce guarantees for the independence of constitutional judges and to review Sooronkulova's dismissal.