Kyrgyzstan: Draft law imposing excessive reporting and control requirements on civil society organizations should not be adopted
The Human Rights Movement “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan” calls on deputies of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan (Jogorku Kenesh) to withdraw the draft law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Amending Some Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic (Laws of the Kyrgyz Republic “On NonProfit Organizations”, “On State Registration of Legal Entities, Branches (Representative Offices)”)” initiated by the Jogorku Kenesh Committee on Social Issues, Education, Science, Culture and Health in December 2019.
The draft law is to be considered by the Parliament on 22 May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which violates the United Nations Call to Action for Human Rights during the pandemic aiming to put human rights at the forefront of the United Nations activities, including in times of crisis. Due to the impossibility of movement, the parliamentary hearings on 22 May 2020 will be aimed at restricting the constitutional rights of citizens to access information and the opportunity for citizens to participate in the discussion of the proposed draft law, discriminating against activists of CSOs from different regions of the Republic, narrowing the space for equal participation of citizens in the decisionmaking process at all authority levels.
Members of the Civic Solidarity Platform have previously issued the call to the Kyrgyz authorities to stay wihin the course of cooperation with civil society and withdraw the above mentioned draft law as it contradicts generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as constitutional guarantees and the legislative framework of Kyrgyzstan.