On April 2, 2024, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed the
Russia-inspired “foreign representatives” law targeting
foreign-funded non-profit and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
(FIDH-OMCT), Bir Duino, and the Coalition for Equality strongly
condemn the adoption of this stigmatising and repressive legisation,
and call on the international community to take all political,
diplomatic and economic measures at their disposal to prompt the
Kyrgyz authorities to repeal the law.
Paris-Geneva,
April 5, 2024. Despite grave concerns raised by Kyrgyz
and international
NGOs, international
organisations and States
governments, on April 2, 2024, Kyrgyz President Sadyr
Japarov signed the “foreign representatives” law, which will
enter into force ten days after its official publication. While
Japarov declared, in a Facebook post, that “there
will be no persecution” of foreign-funded NGOs in
Kyrgyzstan, the law stigmatises and tightens control over human right
organisations, requiring them to register as "foreign
representatives" and to label all their materials as "produced,
distributed and (or) sent by a non-commercial organisation performing
the functions of a foreign representative". The law also unduly
expands the government’s oversight over NGOs receiving foreign
funding, subjecting them to heavy reporting requirements, financial
monitoring, and unscheduled inspections. If organisations fail to
comply with these requirements, their activities can be suspended,
and the organisation can be liquidated.
On
March 14, 2024, the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament of Kyrgyzstan) adopted
the corresponding draft law in its third reading without holding any
debate or dicussion. The law mirrors the notorious Russian “foreign
agent” legislation first introduced in 2012 and made increasingly
repressive through successive amendments, which led to a severe
crackdown on human rights defenders in Russia, forcing many of them
to cease their activities or to flee the country.
With
Georgia’s ruling party announcing
the re-introduction of a similar draft law, only one day after the
adoption of the Kyrgyz “foreign representatives” law, the
signatory organisations note with concern that the adoption of
“foreign agent” style legislations in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia is a highly worrying trend.
The
Observatory, Bir Duino, and the Coalition for Equality deeply regret
the adoption of the new “foreign representatives” law in
Kyrgyzstan, and call on the Kyrgyz authorities to guarantee the right
to freedom of association, as enshrined in several international
human rights documents, including Article 22 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This right includes the
obligation of States to refrain from adopting legislation or
practices that interfere with the right to effectively seek, receive
and use domestic, foreign or international financial resources.
The
signatory organisations urge the international community to take a
firm stand in solidarity with Kyrgyz human rights defenders, to urge
the Kyrgyz authorities, bilaterally and in multilateral fora, to
repeal the “foreign representatives” law, and to guarantee the
right to freedom of association in the country, using all available
political, diplomatic and economic means at their disposal.
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