Kyrgyz Republic

In Kyrgyzstan, UNDP focused on strengthening the rule of law and human rights through supporting legal reforms and justice sector capacity building, enhancing access to justice, empowering women and persons with disabilities, preventing sexual and gender-based violence, promoting business and human rights agenda.

Safeguarding the human rights and democratic gains in the national legislation achieved in the past years with the support of UNDP’s Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development (the Global Programme), UNDP continued advocating and providing technical advise for legal reforms. In particular, UNDP promoted the adoption of the law on free legal aid (adopted in August 2022) and the development of legal mechanisms to address harassment in the work place and to ensure accountability for sex crimes against minors.

One of the achievements of UNDP’s rule of law work in Kyrgyzstan is the improved access to justice and legal services for women and persons with disabilities. Since 2018, more than 40,000 women, persons with disabilities and individuals from other vulnerable groups benefitted from legal advice (including the 2022 data). According to the final project assessment, the past four years saw a 52 percent increase in the number of women who received legal support.

Partnerships

To prevent sexual and gender-based violence and ensure gender-responsive and survivor-centred handling of sexual and gender-based violence cases, an inter-agency task force consisting of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Supreme Court and the Bar Association, with support from UNDP and in partnership with a Public Fund “Kyrgyz Association of Women Judges” (KAWJ), designed mandatory human rights training modules for police officers, judges, lawyers and prosecutors. Three institutions integrated these modules into their curricula. To roll out the modules, UNDP and KAWJ conducted training of trainers for 48 judges, prosecutors, social workers and others. The Higher School of Justice at the Supreme Court conducted a two-day training for 21 judges, and the Republican Training Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs delivered sessions for 120 students.

The Parliamentary Council on Women's Rights, Children's Rights and Gender Equality developed its 2023-2026 Strategy and the Action Plan to strengthen the policy work and oversight to enable women and children to exercise their rights and to prevent violence against women. UNDP, in partnership with a Public Fund “Training Center for Lawyers” supported a network of 59 pro bono lawyers (including 45 women) who provided legal assistance to 54 sexual and gender-based violence survivors, including 41 women, one person with disabilities, 11 girls and two boys. Thirty more women received support in a crisis centre “Chance” in 2021-2022.

In 2022, almost 44,000 people were reached through the awareness-raising social media campaign on free legal aid services available for survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Human rights

UNDP enhanced the capacities of eight CSOs advocating for human rights improvements and accountability in Kyrgyzstan. In particular, UNDP developed a comprehensive toolkit on human rights promotion and protection in line with international standards. Based on the toolkit, training and mentorship sessions were organized for 65 civil society activists (including 43 women) from Chui, Osh, Jalal Abad and Issyk Regions.

Business and Human Rights

With support from the Government of Japan and technical guidance from the Global Programme, UNDP in Kyrgyzstan successfully launched a project to promote business and human rights agenda in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Through the Business and Human Rights (B+HR) Academy, 53 Japanese and Kyrgyzstani companies improved their knowledge and skills on human rights due diligence and the UNGPs. As a result, some of these companies have initiated the development of human rights policies to enhance their ability to remain competitive in local and global markets while respecting due diligence processes and pursuing the well-being of the society. A national multistakeholder platform was established to develop a Human Rights National Baseline Assessment and a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce and the Office of the Ombudsperson are leading the process.