Source: The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2023.

International and Regional Human Rights Agreements

* Category includes ratification, accession, or succession to the treaty

The current Constitution of Kyrgyz Republic was adopted by referendum on April 11, 2021. Several provisions relate to civic freedoms:

Article 6. The Constitution possesses supreme legal power, and its norms have direct application in the Kyrgyz Republic. Constitutional laws, laws and other normative and legal acts are adopted in compliance with the Constitution. The generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as international treaties that have entered into force in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, are an integral part of the legal system of the Kyrgyz Republic. The procedure and conditions for the application of international treaties and generally recognized principles and norms of international law are determined by law. The official publication of laws and other normative legal acts is a prerequisite for their entry into force. A law or other normative legal act establishing new obligations or aggravating liability shall not have retroactive effect.

Article 8. Political parties, trade unions and other public associations can be created in the Kyrgyz Republic to exercise and protect the rights, freedoms and interests of a person and a citizen. Political parties, trade unions and other public associations ensure the transparency of their financial and operating activities.

Article 10. The mass media shall be guaranteed the right to receive information from state and local self-government bodies and disseminate it, and the right to freedom of expression. Censorship is not allowed in the Kyrgyz Republic. The mass media are free and shall carry out their activities in accordance with the law. Information security in the Kyrgyz Republic is ensured by the state. In order to protect the younger generation, activities that contradict moral and ethical values and public conscience of the people of the Kyrgyz Republic may be restricted by law. A list of activities to be restricted and information to be restricted in access and dissemination shall be established by law.

Article 23.Human rights and freedoms are inalienable and belong to everyone from birth. They are recognized as absolute, inalienable and protected by law and court from encroachment on the part of anyone. Human rights and freedoms are among the highest values ​​of the Kyrgyz Republic. They act directly, determine the meaning and content of the activities of all state bodies, local self-government bodies and their officials. Human and civil rights and freedoms may be limited by the Constitution and laws in order to protect national security, public order, health and morality of the population, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Such restrictions can also be introduced taking into account the specifics of military or other public service. Restrictions must be proportionate to the stated objectives. The government cannot adopt subordinate normative legal acts restricting human and civil rights and freedoms. The law may not establish restrictions on human rights and freedoms for other purposes and to a greater extent than provided for by the Constitution. Human rights and freedoms established by the Constitution are not subject to any restrictions. The guarantees of prohibition established by the Constitution are not subject to any restrictions.

Article 32. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought and opinion. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. No one may be compelled to express or refuse to express their opinion. Propaganda of national, racial, religious hatred, gender and other social superiority, calling for discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited.

Article 33. Everyone shall have the right to freely seek, receive, store, use and disseminate information orally, in writing, or by other means. Everyone shall have the right to familiarize with information about themselves held by national and local governmental bodies, institutions, and organizations. Everyone shall have the right to receive information about the activities of national governmental bodies, local self-government bodies and their officials, legal entities with the participation of the national and local governmental bodies, as well as organizations financed from the state and local budgets. Everyone shall be guaranteed access to information held by national and local governmental bodies and their officials. The procedure for providing information shall be determined by law.

Article 36.Every person has a right to freedom of association.

Article 37. Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic shall have the right to elect and be elected to national and local governmental bodies, as well as to participate in referenda. Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic shall have the right to participate in the management of public and state affairs both directly and through their representatives. Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic shall have equal rights and opportunities when entering the state and municipal service and promotion in the manner prescribed by law. Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic have the right to participate in the discussion and adoption of laws and decisions of the national and local importance. Everyone shall have the right to appeal to bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government and their officials, who shall be obliged to provide a substantiated response within a period prescribed by law. Citizens shall have the right to participate in the formation of the state and local budgets, as well as to receive information about the funds actually spent from the budget.

Article 39. Every person has a right to freedom of peaceful assemblies. No one can be forced to participate in the assembly. In order to ensure the holding of a peaceful assembly, everyone has the right to submit a notification to state bodies or local self-government bodies. Organizers and participants of peaceful assemblies are not responsible for the lack of notification of a peaceful assembly, failure to comply with the form of notification, its content and deadlines for submission. The organization and procedure for holding peaceful assemblies are determined by law.

Article 44. […] The state encourages voluntary social insurance, the creation of additional forms of social security and charitable activities. […]

Article 55. In the Kyrgyz Republic, fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms are recognized and guaranteed in accordance with universally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as international treaties that have entered into force in the manner prescribed by law, to which the Kyrgyz Republic is a party.

Article 62. The state guarantees the publication of laws and other normative legal acts concerning human rights, freedoms and obligations, which is a prerequisite for their application. The rights and freedoms set forth in the Constitution are not exhaustive and shall not be construed to deny or diminish other universally recognized human and civil rights and freedoms.

Article 63. Laws restricting freedom of speech, press and media shall be prohibited. Everyone is guaranteed protection of personal data. Access to and receipt of citizens’ personal data is carried out only in cases provided for by law.

National Laws and Regulations Affecting Sector

Relevant national-level laws and regulations affecting civil society include:

1. 1. Constitution (adopted April 11, 2021)
   2. Civil Code, Part 1 (May 8, 1996, with latest amendments on April 11, 2023)
   3. Civil Code, Part 2 (January 5, 1998, with latest amendments on April 11, 2023)
   4. Tax Code (adopted January 18, 2022, with latest amendments on April 3, 2023)
   5. Labor Code (October 4, 2004, with latest amendments on December 23, 2022)
   6. Code on violations (October 28, 2021, with latest amendments on April 3, 2023)
   7. Law on Noncommercial Organizations (October 15, 1999, with latest amendments on February 28, 2023)
   8. Decree on Measures to Implement Article 17 of the Law on NCOs (March 22, 2022)
   9. The Procedure for filling in the new disclosure form (September 16, 2022)
   10. Law Partnership of Owners of Residential and Non-Residential Premises of Apartment Buildings (July 9, 2013, with latest amendments on December 12, 2017)
   11. Regulation on State Registration of Legal Entities, Branch (Representative) Offices (March, 31, 2023)
   12. Law on Political Parties (June 12, 1999)
   13. Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations (December 31, 2008, with latest amendments on May 22, 2021)
   14. Law on Trade Unions (October 16, 1998, with latest amendments on December 16, 2016)
   15. Law on Associations (Union) of Water Users and Unions of Associations of Water Users (March 15, 2002, with latest amendments on December 10, 2021)
   16. Law on Association of Employers (May 22, 2004)
   17. Law on Jamaats (Communities) and their Associations (February 21, 2005, with latest amendments on July 18, 2014)
   18. Law on Cooperatives (June 11, 2004, with latest amendments on March 3, 2023)
   19. Law on Local State Administration and Local Self-Government Bodies (October 20, 2021 with latest amendments on December 1, 2022)
   20. Law on Philanthropy and Charitable Activity (November 6, 1999, with latest amendments on May 10, 2017)
   21. Law on Peaceful Assemblies (May 23, 2012)
   22. Law on Public Councils of State Bodies (May 24, 2014) (Russian)
   23. Law on State Social Procurement (April 27, 2017, with latest amendments on August 5, 2022)
   24. Regulation on the order of conduct of public benefit projects competition for the implementation of SSP (November 4, 2022)
   25. Regulation on the order of providing social services though social vouchers (November 4, 2022)
   26. Law on Countering Financing of Terrorist Activities and Legalization (Laundering) of Criminal Incomes (August 6, 2018, with latest amendments on December 28, 2022)
   27. Law on Protection from False Information (August 23, 2021)
   28. Law on Volunteering Activity (March 31, 2023)
   29. Law on Foreign Representatives (April 2, 2024)

Pending NGO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives

1. In September 2021, the MoJ created a CSO-government working group (WG) to develop amendments to the Law on Access to Information. CSOs recommended developing clear and simple legal mechanisms that would allow citizens to hold civil servants liable for failing to provide timely responses to information requests. CSOs also recommended establishing an independent body to monitor the implementation of the law and address citizens’ complaints in a simplified procedure. The WG agreed with the recommendations and included them in the draft law. On October 12, 2023, parliament adopted the draft law in the first reading.
2. On April 26, 2023, the MoJ posted for public discussion the draft Amendments to the Law on Normative Legal Acts, which allows lawmakers to arbitrarily shorten the public discussion period of draft legal acts from one month to fifteen days, among other restrictions.
3. On November 2, 2022, the Presidential Administration published a draft Law on Noncommercial Nongovernmental Organizations for public discussion. The draft law violates the Constitution and Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations. The most concerning provisions include restricting citizens’ right to association, such as eliminating the provision allowing the creation of unregistered CSOs, introducing new reporting requirements and state control over CSOs’ activities, imposing new restrictions on foreign CSOs (including a requirement to re-register branch/representative offices of foreign CSOs or face liquidation, among other significant shortcomings that violate a range of international norms on the regulation of CSOs). Following the public hearing, on December 19, 2022, the president signed a Decree on February 9, 2023 to establish a CSO-government working group tasked with revising the draft law. The working group assigned to refine the draft law was expected to conclude its work by late 2023.
4. On February 3, 2023, the government posted the draft Law on Terminating the Law on Public Councils of State Bodies for public discussion.
5. On May 15, 2023, the draft Law on Mass Media was posted on the portal for public discussion. This draft law is already the fifth version, which does not take into account all the significant shortcomings voiced by media representatives. Moreover, the UN requests that the adoption of this draft law be suspended.

Organizational Forms

The Kyrgyz Republic recognizes at least 16 distinct organizational forms for noncommercial organizations, including public associations, foundations, institutions, non-profit cooperatives, and community-based organizations. The Civil Code and the Law on Noncommercial Organizations (NCO Law) establish the primary NCO legal framework. Article 2 of the NCO Law defines an NCO as “a voluntary, self-sustained organization created by individuals and (or) legal entities on the basis of community of interests for implementing spiritual and other non-material needs in the interests of its members and (or) the whole society, where the deriving a profit is not a major objective, and the obtained profit is not distributed among members, founders and employees.”

The five most common types of NCOs which can be recognized as CSOs are the following:

(1) A Public Association is a voluntary association of individuals, united by their common interest in meeting spiritual or other non-material needs. A public association is a membership organization, and its highest governing body is the general meeting of members, which in turn creates the executive body (governing board, directorate, etc.) of the organization. The potential area of activity of a public association is very broad: it may include such things as environmental protection, social support of the disabled, education, addressing national issues (for example, through community organizations), culture and art, etc.

(2) A Foundation is a non-membership organization, established by individuals and/or legal entities that make voluntary contributions to the organization, which pursues social, charitable, cultural, educational, or other public benefit goals. A foundation may also be created by a last will and testament. A foundation’s characteristics contrast with those of a public association in that a foundation has no membership and the basis for its creation is the voluntary donation of property transferred by its founders for the pursuit of certain goals.

(3) An Institution is an organization created by an owner for carrying out managerial, social and cultural, educational or other functions of a noncommercial character and financed fully or partially by its owner. An institution may be the most appropriate organizational and legal form for NCOs such as hospitals, clinics, kindergartens, schools, universities, and museums.

(4) An Association or Union of Legal Entities is an organization created in order to coordinate the activities of its member organizations, as well as to represent and protect their common interests.

(5) A Community Based Organization is a local community-level organization, representing a voluntary association of members of a local community, residing on the territory of one street, block or other territorial formation of the village or city, for joint resolution of problems of local importance.

Public Benefit Status

According to the Tax Code, a “charitable organization” is a “noncommercial organization (а) created and carrying out charitable activity in compliance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic on noncommercial organizations and charitable activity; (b) not participating in the activity on production and/or sale of excise goods and gambling business; (c) not participating in the support of political parties or election campaigns.”

Although the tax benefits to charitable organizations and their donors are significant, there are no organizations in the Kyrgyz Republic that qualify for them. One reason for this can be found in Article 9 of the Charity Law, which requires that a charitable organization spend 98% of its income for charitable purposes and not more than 2% of its income for general overhead expenses. Most organizations find this provision to be unworkable and therefore do not attempt to qualify as charitable organizations even if they are otherwise eligible. Another difficulty lies in Article 7 of the Charity Law, which permits a charitable organization to carry out economic activity only to the extent the activity is directed for achievement of the goals for which it was created and corresponds to these goals. The meaning of this provision is untested in the law and the resulting uncertainty as to its scope inhibits charitable organizations from conducting any economic activity at all. By way of contrast, Article 12 of the Law on Noncommercial Organizations permits NCOs to carry out any economic activity so long as it does not contradict the goals and tasks of the organization.

Barriers to Entry

There are no legal barriers to entry. In contrast to the laws of many other countries in the region, NCOs can exist as unregistered organizations. Without legal entity status, however, such organizations will not be able to engage in certain activities in their own name, such as opening a bank account, ordering a seal, and filing a lawsuit. Registration is quick and easy under the “single window” system and generally takes 5 days.

There is no restriction on who can serve as a founder. Founders of an NCO may include any legal entity, foreigner or citizen, or other individuals. Three founders are required to register a public association. There is no minimum amount of assets required to register an NCO.

The procedure for registration consists of 3 steps: (1) drafting incorporation documents and formation of governing bodies; (2) registration under the “single window” system at the Ministry of Justice, which notifies tax authorities, statistical bodies and other government agencies of the registration and obtains the necessary registration numbers for the applicant; (3) opening a bank account and ordering a stamp (which are optional but necessary if the organization intends to conduct significant activities in its own name). After the application for registration is submitted, the Ministry checks the incorporation documents for compliance with the requirements of the Civil Code, the Regulation on State Registration of Legal Entities, Branch (Representative) Offices and other laws regulating NCOs. After 5 days, if the application is not rejected, the Ministry issues a Certificate of State Registration, and the NCO is officially registered in Ministry of Justice, Tax Service and Social Fund.

Generally, the Regulation on State Registration of Legal Entities, Branch (Representative) Offices requires the submission of certain documents with the application: (1) charter; (2) minutes of meeting of founders; (3) the list of members of governing bodies; and (4) the list of founders. The registration fee is 200 KGS (about $2,5). The Ministry can deny registration if the information provided is incorrect or contradicts applicable law, but the applicant has the right to appeal a denial to the Ministry and, subsequently, to a court.

Community-based organizations must seek registration with the local self-governmental bodies and consist of no fewer than 10 founding members (Articles 5(3) and 6(1) of the Law on Jamaats (Communities) and Their Associations).

Barriers to Operational Activity

There are several legal barriers to operational activities. Generally, an NCO may conduct any activity not forbidden in its charter. However, charitable organizations and public associations may not conduct economic activities unless the activity corresponds to its statutory goals. The government has no right to interfere with the internal self-governance of an NCO, and the law does not require advance approval for project activities.

Reporting requirements for NCOs were the same as for other legal entities until June 26, 2021, when the amendments to the Law on NCOs were adopted. The amendments introduced a requirement for all NCOs to publish a new annual financial disclosure report on the State Tax Service (STS) website. On March 22, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a Decree approving the new CSO financial disclosure form and its submission procedure. According to the Decree, annually by April 1,CSOs are required to publish the completed form for the previous year on the STS website. The approved form includes two sections:

1. Cumulative information:

a) income sources by disaggregation (membership fees, donations, grants from local and foreign sources, amongst others);

b) expenditures by disaggregation (business trips, salaries, procurements, conferences/seminars, expenditures for charter purposes, amongst other expenditures); and

c) movable property and vehicles.

2. Detailed breakdown of sources of income (name, country code, and tax identification number of the income source).

NCOs have the same rights and obligations as other legal entities with respect to inspections and audits conducted by government agencies.

NCOs are subject to dissolution if they conduct an activity that violates the law (such as engaging in an activity without a license where a license is required) or failing to submit reports to the tax authority within one year. These dissolution grounds are applicable to all legal entities, including commercial and noncommercial.

More recently, the Law on Amending the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Noncommercial Organizations (Law on “Foreign Representatives”) was signed by President Japarov on April 2, 2024. The Law establishes new burdensome requirements for NCOs, including, among other provisions, providing state authorities with the right to interfere in an organization’s internal affairs; forcing NCOs that receive foreign funding and engage in broadly defined “political activity” to complete a special “foreign representative” registration; and requiring INGOs to work in Kyrgyzstan through a registered branch/representative office, potentially prohibiting NCOs from receiving grants from unregistered INGOs. An ICNL analysis has examined the Law’s compliance with the Kyrgyz Republic’s international obligations and international best practices and analyzes the possible consequences of its adoption.

Barriers to Speech / Advocacy

The international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RWF) assesses the situation with freedom of speech and media freedom in 180 countries and annually publishes the results of its World Press Freedom Index. In 2023, the Kyrgyz Republic ranked 122nd in the global press freedom rankings. RWF reports that “officials in recent years have been trying to strengthen censorship and to promulgate laws to restrict press freedom. After a fruitless attempt in 2020, President Sadyr Japarov signed a law in 2021 to restrict the dissemination of so-called ‘false information’ – a law that violates the constitution as well as international treaties, and limits press freedom.”

The 2021 Law on Protection from False Information provides individuals with the right to demand the removal of online content about themselves that they believe to be false. If the website owner who hosts the allegedly false information does not comply within 24 hours, they are at risk of having their site or page suspended for up to two months (or indefinitely if the content is still not removed), and they may also be liable for damages in court. The law fails to strike a balance between the legitimate interest of protecting the rights and reputation of others and the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

Barriers to International Contact

No legal barriers.

Barriers to Resources

Nearly all CSOs in Kyrgyzstan depend on funding from international grants.

On May 27, 2017, the new Law on State Social Procurement (SSP) entered into force, and in December 2017, the Government of Kyrgyzstan approved four secondary legal acts on SSP to support its implementation. These legal acts address (1) competitions for public benefit projects, (2) social vouchers, (3) monitoring and evaluation of SSP projects, and (4) the web-portal on state grants. Notably, in 2014-2017, social procurement programs were allocated only an average of 22.5 million Kyrgyz Soms ($330,000) each year. In 2019, the total amount exceeded 42 million Kyrgyz Soms. On August 5, 2022, amendments to the Law on SSP were adopted that exclude almost all the existing civic engagement and transparency mechanisms in the Law on SSP.

Barriers to Assembly

There is a ban on conducting gatherings and peaceful assemblies closer than 100 meters from elementary and high schools, hospitals, and properties of the penal system.

In April 2022, the Bishkek Pervomaisky district court imposed a blanket ban on all meetings in front of the Russian Embassy and other political buildings without doing the required analysis to justify such a broad ban. The ban is effective until July 21, 2023.

In November 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the 2022-2023 Human Rights Action Plan, which includes a task to organize the issuance of permits for holding peaceful assemblies online. It should be noted that the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic does not oblige the organizer of a peaceful assembly to obtain a permit to hold a peaceful assembly. Organizers of peaceful assemblies are only entitled to submit advance notice so that the authorities can assist in holding peaceful assemblies.

Barriers to Public Participation

Laws on Public Participation
National laws protect and institutionalize civic participation through, for instance, public discussions and hearings on draft laws and regulations; the creation of various CSO-government working groups, commissions, and public councils of state bodies; and citizen engagement in the formation of the state and local budgets.  The following laws contain provisions related to public participation:

• Constitution
• Budget Code
• Law on Normative Legal Acts
• Law on Parliamentary Procedures
• Law on Local State Administrations and Local Self-Government Bodies
• Law of Kyrgyz Republic on Public Councils of State Bodies
• Law on State Social Procurement
• Regulation on the Public Discussion Portal
• Decree on the Implementation of Open Government Partnership Initiative
• Open Government Partnership National Action Plan
• Decree on the Official Publication of Normative Legal Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic

Under the Constitution and the Law on Normative Legal Acts, the official publication of laws and other normative legal acts is a prerequisite for their entry into force. A government decree requires all normative legal acts to be published in official print sources and websites, and the government has a Centralized Database of Legal Information. However, the information in the database is not updated regularly; although there are reliable legal databases run by private companies, they require a paid subscription that renders them inaccessible to most of the population.

Initially, there seemed to be significant progress over the last decade in increasing meaningful opportunities for public participation. In May 2014, Kyrgyzstan adopted a Law on Public Councils of the State Bodies, which guarantees the establishment of citizen advisory bodies in all government agencies and greatly improves the mechanisms for their operation and the selection of their members. In 2017, the country joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and developed an ambitious National Action Plan (NAP).  The NAP features commitments related to transparency, participatory lawmaking, participatory budgeting and auditing, freedom of information, and civic space. On October 20, 2020, Bishkek City joined the OGP Local Initiative.  In 2020, the government launched a public discussion portal, and a governmental decree requires executive bodies to discuss their legal initiatives through the portal. However, this progress ground to a halt in 2021. The current government is not supportive of civil society and its engagement in government decision-making. The terms of all public councils’ members have expired, and the government has not started to recruit new members. The government also ignored the OGP National Forum and has not started developing the new NAP. In addition, there have been no developments in Bishkek’s membership in the OGP Local Initiative since OGP approved Bishkek’s application.

Public Access to Participation Opportunities
CSOs actively use civic engagement mechanisms to promote their causes, and lay people are aware of the mechanisms depending on their interest in the topic (e.g., budget hearings in the regions are popular among citizens as they can influence live issues). However, in 2022 the MoJ began promoting “law de-bureaucratization.” According to the MoJ, the complicated legislative procedures in Kyrgyzstan hinder the government’s ability to carry out reforms. To address this issue, the MoJ decided to introduce de-bureaucratization, which would relegate the parliament to adopting mostly framework laws while the government develops bylaws to implement laws. The proposed law de-bureaucratization concept could weaken civic engagement in the law-making process and allow the government to circumvent meaningful public consultations. Although it has not yet been enshrined in law, many state bodies have already started implementing law de-bureaucratization. For instance, on August 5, 2022, amendments to the Law on State Social Procurement (SSP) were adopted, eliminating almost all civic engagement mechanisms in the previous version of the Law on SSP. CSOs are concerned that the proposed amendments will deteriorate the transparency and efficiency of SSP. In addition, on October 11, 2022, the MoJ posted for public discussion the new draft Law on Normative Legal Acts that would, among other things, allow lawmakers to arbitrarily shorten the public discussion period from one month to one week.

Restrictions on Particular Groups’ Rights to Public Participation
Officially, there are no restrictions on climate and/or environmental advocacy. In fact, the Law on Environmental Protection protects the rights of public associations performing environmental functions and citizens related to environmental advocacy, including to organize meetings, rallies, demonstrations, collecting signatures, coming up with proposals to hold referendums, and discussions of draft laws on environmental protection issues. However, in practice the government takes actions that have a chilling effect on the public’s participation in environment-related issues. For instance, more than 20 people in Kyrgyzstan were arrested October 2022 after publicly disagreeing with the impending transfer of an important dam to Uzbekistan as part of a border demarcation agreement.

Since the Kyrgyz Republic provides all individuals within its territory and jurisdiction with equal protection of their rights and freedoms, restrictions on civic participation should affect all groups or segments equally. However, the restrictions tend to fall disproportionately on human rights defenders working on civil and political rights, investigative journalists, bloggers, and activists who criticize the government.

While we aim to maintain information that is as current as possible, we realize that situations can rapidly change.  If you are aware of any additional information or inaccuracies on this page, please keep us informed; write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org.

Key Events

On July 13, 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Kyrgyzstan. The resolution urges the Kyrgyz authorities to review and withdraw several laws that are inconsistent with the country’s international commitments. Of particular concern are the law on “false information” as well as the draft laws on “foreign representatives,” “mass media,” and “protecting children from harmful information,” or the so-called “LGBTI propaganda law.”

News Items

Open Society Foundations to Cease Operations in Kyrgyzstan (April 2024)
The Open Society Foundations will close their national foundation in Kyrgyzstan following the passing of a new law which imposes restrictive, broad, and ill-defined regulations on the activities of internationally funded local organizations. According to a statement on February 7 from the OSCE, the new law risks “an overwhelmingly negative impact on civil society, human rights defenders, and the media in Kyrgyzstan.” Open Society launched the Soros Foundation–Kyrgyzstan in 1993, when the country was navigating a complex socioeconomic crisis following its independence from the former Soviet Union.

CSOs call on president to veto the law on “foreign representatives” (March 2024)
The Kyrgyz Parliament adopted the draft law “On Non-Profit Non-Governmental Organisations” in its third parliamentary reading, paving the way for its implementation, which would drastically restrict freedom of association in Kyrgyzstan. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (International Federation for Human Rights-FIDH and World Organisation Against Torture-OMCT), Bir Duino and the Coalition for Equality condemn this dangerous new step towards the curtailing of civic space and urge the President of Kyrgyzstan not to sign the draft law in order to prevent its implementation.

Draft NGO law poses grave threat to thriving civil society (October 2023)
Reacting to the Kyrgyzstani parliament’s adoption in its first reading of amendments to a law that would dangerously restrict freedom of association and the work of NGOs in the country, Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said, “We are disappointed that these unnecessarily restrictive amendments to existing NGO legislation were passed at the bill’s first reading.” The proposed amendments include penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for civil society activists who establish, participate in or promote an NGO or an affiliate of a foreign NGO, if the authorities find that the organization is committing what is vaguely defined as ‘inciting citizens to refuse to perform civic duties or to commit other unlawful deeds.’

Civil Society Struggles for Freedom in Central Asia (September 2023)
Kyrgyzstan has the region’s most robust civil society, which activists say is now under direct threat. Several prominent human rights groups issued a joint statement urging lawmakers in Kyrgyzstan to reject a bill introduced by 33 legislators. “This draft law, which draws heavily on corresponding Russian legislation and is primarily aimed at stigmatizing and restricting the activities of foreign-funded organizations, poses a direct and serious threat to Kyrgyzstan’s vibrant civil society, in particular human rights defenders and their organizations,” the statement said.

The President signed the Law on Volunteering Activity (March 2023) (Russian)
The law creates a legal basis for volunteerism that can be expanded and strengthened through relevant amendments to the tax, labor, and other legislation.

A working group has been formed to finalize the draft  Law on Noncommercial Nongovernmental Organizations (February 2023) (Russian)
On December 19, President signed a Decree on February 9 to establish a CSO-government working group tasked with revising the draft law.

Pressure on media, attacks on NGOs, cooperation: Interview with U.S. Ambassador” (February 2023) (English)

The public councils of state bodies appealed to the President. They ask not to abolish public councils (February 2023) (English)

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Urgent interim opinion on the Draft Law “On Non-Profit Nongovernmental Organizations” and draft amendments on “Foreign Representatives” (December 2022)
The majority of the provisions of the Draft Law are incompatible with international human rights standards.

ICNL Analysis of the Kyrgyz Republic Draft Law on Non-Governmental Organizations (December 2022)
The Analysis shows that the Draft Law, if adopted, will significantly worsen the conditions for the establishment and the legal status of both local and foreign NCOs in the Kyrgyz Republic.

MP Narmatova initiated a draft law on “foreign representatives” (November 2022) (Russian)
In 2015, MP Nadira Narmatova together with former parliamentarian Tursanbai Bakir uulu already initiated a similar document, called the draft law on “foreign agents”. However, the majority of deputies in 2016 voted against the document, believing that it would limit the rights of civil society and lead to a reduction in international assistance to Kyrgyzstan.

The Presidential Administration has developed a new law on non-profit organizations (November 2022) (Russian)
The General Prosecutor’s Office will monitor and supervise the compliance of NGOs’ activities with the goals stipulated by their founding documents and the legislation of the country.

The Law on Protection from False Information. Members of parliament said it aimed to restrict free speech (September 2022) (Russian)
The leader of the parliamentary faction, Adakhan Madumarov, noted that there is open pressure on Internet resources in the country and that the authorities simply shut down the channels they don’t like.

New parliamentary regulations: more room to maneuver and less responsibility (June 2022) (Russian)
Six months have passed since the first plenary session of the parliament of the seventh convocation elected under the hybrid system. However, MPs have not yet approved the draft of the new parliamentary regulations.

The Ministry of Justice trained legal services of state bodies on the new methodology for drafting laws (June 2022) (Russian)
The Institute of Lawmaking and Rule of Law of the Ministry of Justice trained employees of the legal services of state bodies and their structural subdivisions involved in the development of normative legal acts on the new de-bureaucratization methodology.

CSOs oppose the draft Regulation on State Small Grants for CSOs (May 2022) (Russian)
More than 40 CSOs published a statement that the authorities were trying to divide the civil society sector into loyal and disloyal organizations, which may lead to discrimination against individual CSOs that criticize the government.

Lawyers are against the reduction of the period of public discussions (May 2022) (Russian)
Lawyers of the Legal Clinic “Adilet” opposed the parliamentary initiative to reduce public discussions of draft normative legal acts to 15 working days.

Kyrgyzstan: Repeal protest ban (March 2022)
“Kyrgyz authorities should immediately repeal restrictions that prohibit any gatherings in front of the Russian Embassy in Bishkek, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also cancel fines imposed on three human rights defenders detained on March 17, 2022, who were peacefully protesting outside the Russian Embassy.”

Representatives of civil society and government agencies discussed the draft law “On the right to access information” (December 2021) (Russian)
A round table was held in Bishkek to discuss the draft Laws of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the right to access information” and “On amendments to certain legislative acts on the right to access information”.  The event was organized by the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the UN System in the Kyrgyz Republic. It was attended by representatives of state bodies, international organizations, civil society and the media.

Reporters Without Borders call on Sadyr Japarov to abolish fake news law (August 2021)
Under the guise of fighting online disinformation, Kyrgyzstan’s president has signed a law allowing the authorities to summarily suppress information at the request of any citizen who says they are being defamed. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.

Devil in the details of Kyrgyzstan’s new-look constitution (March 2021)
Talk of a new constitution has dominated the news agenda for months in Kyrgyzstan, although few people fully understood what was being proposed.  That changed in the first half of February, when parliament finally unveiled a document that many experts fret will return the country to strongman rule.

Bishkek is now part of the OGP Local partnership (October 2020) (Russian)
Bishkek City Hall has joined the OGP Local initiative (Open Local Government Partnership). The city passed a two-stage competition, as a result of which 56 cities from all over the world were selected. The victory of the city of Bishkek in this competition was based on the practice already adopted by the capital of interacting with citizens to ensure the transparency of its activities.

Kyrgyzstanis will be able to discuss draft laws on a unified portal (August 2020) (Russian)
The MoJ launched a new public discussion portal. A governmental decree obligates executive bodies to discuss their normative legal initiatives through the portal. The portal provides for clear mechanisms by which civil society can submit comments to the initiators of draft normative legal acts.

Kyrgyzstan: Volunteers play heroic role in battle against COVID-19 (July 2019)
Earlier this month, football player and entrepreneur Aidana Otorbayeva took to Facebook to offer a helping hand to the doctors on the front line of Kyrgyzstan’s battle with coronavirus. “I am not a doctor,” she wrote. “But! I am ready to volunteer. To help medical personnel, run errands for them, take them food … to at least somehow ease their work.” She then appealed to the public to do their bit too. Her volunteer group, called Soobsha, now has around 35 members daily assisting doctors, making deliveries of medical materials, providing food, and manning drop-in health centers. In some cases, they are even transporting patients to hospital or delivering medicine to the homes of sick people.

Kyrgyzstan: Law “On Manipulating Information” must be vetoed (July 2020)
ARTICLE 19 is extremely concerned about the recent adoption of the Law “on Manipulating Information” (the Law) as it imposes a strict control over the information on the Internet, in particular social media, in Kyrgyzstan. ARTICLE 19 calls on the President, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, to veto the Law. We also call on the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to uphold freedom of expression both online and offline.

Kyrgyzstan: Draft bill threatens to drive NGOs against the wall (May 2020)
Parliament in Kyrgyzstan on May 22 resumed formal scrutiny of a draft law that experts believe is designed to hobble the work of independent civic activists. And with coronavirus-related restrictions on their side, the legislature’s largely government-loyal members were able to hear discussions at the public forum with almost no interventions from the very kinds of nongovernmental groups the law would hurt. The bill would oblige NGOs to engage in more exhaustive reporting on their finances than is currently required, draining the often-small organizations of their already depleted human and financial resources. If the law is adopted in its current form, a government portal will be created to store all the information provided by NGOs.

A Power Grab in Kyrgyzstan (May 2020)
Over the past four months, the government of Kyrgyzstan has made repeated attempts to impose new restrictions on non-governmental organizations. Now with the coronavirus pandemic dominating global headlines, one of these initiatives is being rammed through parliament in an attempt to permanently change the country’s civil society landscape. A proposed new law currently before the country’s parliament would introduce new reporting requirements on nongovernmental organizations, and would give the government a wide margin of discretion for determining these reporting conditions.

UN in Kyrgyzstan: Adoption of amendments to the law on NGOs will undermine Kyrgyzstan’s reputation as a democracy (May 2020) (Russian)
The UN Office in Kyrgyzstan sent a note to the country’s parliament. The international organization is concerned that on May 22, MPs will consider amendments to the law on NGOs, which would require NGOs to conduct additional reporting.

President offers olive branch to civil society (July 2018)
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has surprised many in the country by hosting a gathering of civil society’s leading lights to discuss pressing problems. If notes that came out of the closed doors meeting are anything to go by, they gave him a rather long list. Key issues raised according to notes posted on Twitter included judicial, police and penitentiary reform, ecological problems in Bishkek, radicalization and state orphanages.

Kyrgyzstan is leader in Central Asia for civil society development (December 2017)

Kyrgyz Government intends to pay special attention to civil society development (December 2017)

President of Kyrgyzstan attacks human rights defenders and NGOs (April 2017) (Russian)

Growing Pressure on Media Groups (March 2017)

Termination of Bilateral Agreement with USA (August 2015) (Russian)

Kyrgyzstan’s UPR: A Missed Opportunity (January 2015)

Concerns over Draft Law (August 2013)

Open Letter to the authorities (May 2013)

Kyrgyzstan to amend extremist and electronic correspondence laws (April 2013)