Concluding observations on the third periodic reportof Kyrgyzstan

Addendum

Information provided by Kyrgyzstan in follow-up to the concluding observations *

[Date received: 15 July 2014]

* The present document is being issued without formal editing.

Information provided by ministries and departments regarding measures taken by the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2012 and thereafter in response to the Concluding Observations to paragraphs 20 and 22

The following steps with regard to paragraphs No. 12 “38” [sic] will be taken:

1.Analysis of the health of rural women based on aetiological structure, and provision of affordable, adequate medical care;

2.Strengthening measures to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates;

3.Steps to reduce the spread and morbidity rate of tuberculosis among women;

4.Steps to treat and prevent alcoholism and drug addiction among women;

6.Steps to identify and treat cases of HIV infection among pregnant women, as well as among vulnerable groups of the populace;

7.Steps to increase public knowledge of contraceptive methods, and promotion of sex education.

The Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic has taken the following strate gic steps:

1.Has developed institutional mechanisms to ensure gender equality at all levels of education:

—Has supported, and participated in, joint advisory councils and projects implemented within the framework of a gender policy;

—Has facilitated the creation of gender-issues departments in higher learning institutions;

—Has expanded the potential of staff members of the Ministry of Education and Science, educational management bodies, and subordinate institutions through training seminars on the introduction of gender perspectives. [sic]

2.Has provided equal access to education for both sexes and access to preschool institutions:

—Has provided access to education for children from socially vulnerable segments of the population;

—Has created access to education for children from socially vulnerable segments of the population; [sic]

—Has expanded the network of children’s preschool institutions, including those that enable the broader involvement of women in public activities;

—Has implemented 100-hour and 240-hour school preparation programmes for preschool children to ensure equal access to primary school.

3.Has improved the legal framework for education from the standpoint of gender perspectives:

—Has recruited experts to perform analysis of the gender sensitivity of prevailing regulatory and legal acts involving preschool, general secondary, and higher and secondary professional education;

—Has effected the amendment of regulatory and legal acts for all levels of education on the basis of gender perspectives.

4.Has improved the content of education in terms of gender sensitivity:

—Has recruited experts to perform analysis of gender sensitivity of prevailing State educational standards for all levels of education, curricula, programmes, textbooks and study guides;

—Has incorporated a gender component into a new generation of State educational standards, and, on the basis of gender perspectives, has revised textbooks and teaching aids for elective courses for all levels of education;

—Has effected expert review of academic programmes and teaching aids in terms of the prevention of religious/extremist influence and violence against women and in terms of tolerant and safe behaviour;

—Has supported the incorporation of family planning training programmes and training programmes for reducing the level of abortions and the infant and maternal mortality rates;

—Has effected expert review of programmes to prevent alcoholism, drug addition, AIDS and HIV infection and to reduce STIs.

5.Has incorporated gender-sensitive training technologies:

—Has organized functional literacy skill upgrades courses for teachers and for workers at preschool institutions, particularly in rural areas;

—Has performed a comparative analysis of regional models for raising boys and girls in the family and in society, with an eye to changing traditional models and promoting gender sensitivity;

—Has conducted seminars for education system specialists in which gender specialists have taken part.

6.Has created gender-disaggregated education statistics:

—Has incorporated changes into statistics reports on the basis of gender policy requirements, and created a database based on gender indicators;

—Has developed a system for training and promoting women leaders through leadership schools and other mechanisms;

—Has assembled gender-disaggregated statistics for the staff composition in all learning institutions, education management bodies, and the headquarters of the Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Education and Science.

7.Has performed monitoring and assessment (analysis):

—Has performed monitoring and prepared the report on the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Committee with regard to compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, having studied the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee, plans to take the following steps in 2012:

1.Conduct a workshop that addresses issues pertaining to counteracting discrimination against women and involves the participation of representatives of international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), State agencies and local self-governing bodies;

2.Improve the law by way of strengthening administrative and criminal liability for family violence;

3.Develop teaching aids for the prevention and suppression of gender and family violence;

4.Develop and implement projects geared to training individuals from district internal-affairs directorates and departments who do practical work in the fundamentals of interacting with crisis centres and medical institutions, and do work to develop intersectoral collaboration with local self-governing bodies and NGOs and to support civil initiatives in the performance of work to prevent domestic violence;

5.Develop informational materials on gender issues;

6.Conduct seminars and training sessions for department of internal affairs staff members to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement of the Kyrgyz Republic Law on Social and Legal Protection against Violence in the Family;

7.Conduct conferences, seminars and round tables for department of internal affairs staff members regarding the provisions of domestic law and international treaties in realm of counteracting discrimination against women;

8.Conduct seminars and training sessions with an eye to developing gender sensitivity among staff members of internal affairs offices;

9.Prepare and publish teaching aids and study guides for the prevention of gender and family violence;

10.Conduct the annual informational campaign “16 Days against Violence against Women”.

The Judicial Department of the Kyrgyz Republic:

Paragraph 20 indicated above and approved by the 19 June Kyrgyz Republic Governmental Resolution, dictate [sic] taking steps to conduct the informational campaign “16 Days against Violence against Women” and to conduct training events for judges and prosecutorial and law enforcement workers and staff members pertaining to practices involving the enforcement of Kyrgyz Republic law and provide social and legal protection against violence in the family; incorporated [sic] into the programmes of learning institutions and law enforcement and judicial bodies, are questions pertaining to the prevention and suppression of violence in the family, as well as to protection of the victims; studies of sexual violence, including sexual harassment, are also to be conducted.

Paragraph 22 dictates taking measures to amend the Kyrgyz Republic Criminal Code by strengthening penalties for forcing women to enter into marriage; to conduct awareness-raising campaigns regarding “bride abduction” and its negative consequences, polygamy, and violence against women, in order to eradicate such practices; and to conduct research on the problem of “bride abduction”.

For the above-indicated paragraphs, named as the administrative agencies were the Training Centre for Judges, the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, local self-governing bodies, the Ministry of Education, local State administrative authorities, the National Television and Radio Corporation, television and radio companies and the ElTR [public broadcasting company]. Because the Training Centre for Judges was moved from the control of the Judicial Department, please refer to the training centre for judges under the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic for the implementation of the above-indicated paragraphs.

The Judicial Department, in accordance with its statute, which was approved by the 21 April 2008 Kyrgyz Republic Presidential Decree No. 143, gathers data on the examination by local courts of judicial cases and materials (judicial statistics) and transfers them to the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic for study and analysis.

According to the statistical data provided by the local Kyrgyz Republic courts for 2006:

Under Article 155 of the Kyrgyz Republic Criminal Code, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined 8 cases and convicted 21 persons.

In 2007:

Under Article 153 of the Kyrgyz Republic Criminal Code, “Bigamy and polygamy”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined one case which was dismissed.

Under Article 154 of the Kyrgyz Republic Criminal Code, “Forcing a person into de facto marital relations with a person who has not reached the age of 16”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined 12 cases and convicted 12 persons.

Under Article 155, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined 19 cases and convicted 47 persons.

In 2008:

Under Article 154, “Forcing a person into de facto marital relations with a person who has not reached the age of 16”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined four cases and convicted six persons.

Under Article 155, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined three cases and convicted four persons.

In 2009:

Under Article 154, “Forcing a person into de facto marital relations with a person who has not reached the age of 16”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined two cases and convicted two persons.

Under Article 155, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined seven cases and convicted seven persons.

In 2010:

Under Article 153, “Bigamy and polygamy”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined one case and convicted one person.

Under Article 155, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined three cases and convicted four persons.

In the first half of 2011, under Article 154, “Forcing a person into de facto marital relations with a person who has not reached the age of 16”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined one case and convicted one person.

Under Article 155, “Forcing a woman into marriage or obstructing a woman’s entry into marriage”, Kyrgyz Republic courts examined two cases and convicted five persons.

The Training Centre for Judges under the Supreme C ourt of the Kyrgyz Republic:

In accordance with the Statute, the Training Centre for Judges under the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter, Centre for Judges) provides assistance in raising the quality of administration of justice through professional training and skill upgrades of judges of the Kyrgyz Republic and of Government employees working in the court system of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic, and subdivisions of the bailiff services.

In accordance with the Plan of Action for the Implementation of the concluding recommendation of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, approved by the 19 June 2009 Kyrgyz Republic Government Resolution No. 387, the Centre for Judges and the Soros Foundation–Kyrgyzstan, within the framework of the project “Developing mechanisms for and ensuring the social and legal protection of women against violence”, conducted seminars on the topic “International standards and domestic law in the sphere of gender equality” for judges of local courts of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2009 and 2010. The programme for those seminars addressed individual provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The seminars examined the following: “Gender relations: concept and practical aspects”; “International and national obligations of the Kyrgyz Republic in terms of achieving gender equality”; “Family violence as a social phenomenon”; and “Gender-based analysis and gender-based review of Kyrgyz Republic law”. A total of 134 Kyrgyz Republic judges took part in the work of the seminars.

For purposes of implementing the concluding recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in response to the Fourth Periodic Report of the Kyrgyz Republic in terms of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, plans call for the training of Kyrgyz Republic judges in matters of gender equality. Accordingly, the 2012 curriculum of the Centre for Judges includes seminars and training sessions based on the CEDAW provisions. The seminars and training sessions will examine issues pertaining to the legal instruments for combating family violence, bride abduction and trafficking in persons (women) and pertaining to women’s access to the courts.

The Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic:

Questions of gender equality constitute one of the top-priority areas of oversight in the activities of the prosecutorial authorities of the Republic. In 2011, prosecutorial authorities did definitive work to comply with the requirements of the Kyrgyz Republic Law on State Guarantees for Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women.

It should be noted that the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic is placing a high priority on issues of gender equality. A number of actions aimed at meeting the requirements of the law in the area of gender policy are planned for 2012.

Gender issues must be included in all curriculum courses for 2012 that involve training prosecutorial and investigative staff and upgrading their skills at the Centre for Professional Training of Prosecutorial Staff of the Office of the Prosecutor-General, where plans call for the participation of staff members of prosecutorial offices from all regions of the Republic, the purpose of which is to enhance the knowledge necessary for performing prosecutorial oversight of the enforcement of the laws on minors and gender equality in the following areas:

—General aspects of the performance of prosecutorial oversight of the enforcement of the laws on minors and gender equality;

—International and national laws and regulations in the field of gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence;

—Gender relations: concept and practical aspects. Gender roles, gender stereotypes, and gender-based discrimination;

—Violence against women. Family violence. Forms and types of violence against women. Consequences of gender-based violence for women, the community, and the State.

Plans call for oblast prosecutors to verify enforcement of the above-indicated law in State government bodies.

Analysis of personnel management shows that in 2011, measures were taken to comply with the requirements of the Kyrgyz Republic Law on State Guarantees for Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women. In addition to the proper personnel decisions being made with regard to the prosecutorial staff, the 1 December 2011 Order of the Prosecutor-General No. 655-k ensures that when applicants signed on to support personnel are being employed, the requirements of that law will be abided by. Of those employed to date, three are women.

Senior officials of the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic in January 2012 put into effect the “Strategy for the development of the prosecutorial authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic for the period up to 2015”, which involves a system of mobility and career growth for prosecutors and investigators on the basis their professional merit and proficiency, with account taken of gender policy.

The Republic’s Prosecutor-General has developed and introduced a new form for statistical reports that makes it possible to record and analyse instances of physical violence against women and girls.

By and large, the analysis has shown that gender issues need to be addressed on a systemic basis and that their resolution must include development of a strategy to be systematically implemented by all State authorities.

Only if efforts of the legislative and executive branches of Government are coordinated with those of civil society and NGOs can we achieve the elimination of discrimination based on sex and protect the rights of the mother, the father and the child as higher human values, namely:

1.If we conduct a serious analysis of both the State authorities and local self-governing bodies in terms of compliance with gender laws.

2.If we monitor violations of the constitutional rights of women and girls in all regions of the Republic, including the right to education, the right to work, the right to religious freedom and, inter alia, the right to hold certain posts.

3.If we consider the creation of a fund at the State level for providing medical, legal, rehabilitation, material and other assistance to women and girls who are the victims of violence, particularly during armed conflicts.

4.If we perform ongoing awareness-raising work in the mass media and in various seminar settings and training sessions in all institutions and enterprises, regardless of their form of ownership, in order to inform the public in remote regions of the Republic of the rights of women and girls and of the liability associated with violation of those rights, and if we form special groups to do such work.

5.If we amend the Kyrgyz Republic Law on State Guarantees for Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women to clearly indicate a minimum level of 30 per cent for the representation of women in State agencies and local self-governing bodies. We must specify administrative liability for failure to maintain that level.

The Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic:

In 2012, the Supreme Court planned the following actions:

1.Improvement of the mechanism for the collection of statistical information by gender with regard to both the perpetrators of violence and the victims of the violence;

2.Compilation of case law, and analysis of court statistics on gender-based crimes;

3.Training of judges to enhance gender sensitivity;

4.Participation in public awareness campaigns to eliminate the practices of bride abduction and the coercion of women into marriage or the obstruction of their entry into marriage, as well as bigamy and polygamy.

The Omb udsman ( Akyikatchy ) of the Kyrgyz Republic:

In 2012, staff members of the Office of the Akyikatchy of the Kyrgyz Republic, for purposes of eradicating discrimination against women, planned a number of incremental actions. The principal events, which will be geared to monitoring and analysing the protection of rights to be free of violence in the family and gender discrimination, are as follows:

1.Travelling training seminars among regional risk groups focusing on protection of rights to be free of violence in the family and gender discrimination in the Issyk-Kul, Naryn, Osh, Chuy, Batken, and Jalal-Abad oblasts, with the participation of representatives of the central and regional offices of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, UNDP, NGOs and various departments.

1.Prevention and outreach among regional risk groups in the area of protection of rights to be free of violence in the family and gender discrimination;

2.Publication of handouts for risk groups regarding the protection of the rights to be free of violence in the family and gender discrimination;

3.Outreach through the mass media, television and radio broadcasts, newspaper articles;

For your information, we can advise that a sector for monitoring and analysing compliance in terms of protection against violence in the family and gender discrimination is operating in the Office of the Akyikatchy of the Kyrgyz Republic. Since 1 July 2011, a total of 31 of the 79 State employees have been women, and of the three heads and Deputy Ombudsman, one has been a woman.

A Public Council for Gender Development has also been created (December 2009), and serving on it are representatives of ministries and NGOs, as well as independent experts. The Statute for the Public Council for Gender Development has been approved.

The Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic:

With regard to the Plan of Action for implementation of the concluding recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in response to the Third Periodic Report of the Kyrgyz Republic regarding implementation of the Convention, approved by the 19 June 2009 Kyrgyz Republic Governmental Resolution No. 387, the Ministry advises that it has no proposals for inclusion in the National Report on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

At the same time, it must be noted that measures aimed at addressing the above-indicated issues also need to be carried out within the framework of the 2012 budgets being approved for the concerned ministries and departments.

The Mayor of the city of Bishkek took the following measures in 2012:

1.Ensured timely response of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs for the city of Bishkek to complaints and requests of citizens regarding family violence, with prompt visits to the scene of the conflict and the issuance of a temporary restraining order. When the restraining order was issued, conditions attached to the order and the consequences of failing to comply were explained to the perpetrator of the family violence;

2.To enhance knowledge of members of the police force, ensured that additional classes were conducted that involved study of the 28 September 2009 Kyrgyz Republic Law on Social and Legal Protection against Violence in the Family and the law on enacting the Instructions for the Performance of Activities by the Kyrgyz Republic Department of Internal Affairs to Suppress and Prevent Family Violence”;

3.Ensured that investigative offices of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of Bishkek did work in response to bride abductions, coerced marriages, and polygamy;

4.Arranged regular checks at the place of residence of habitual offenders in the area of family and domestic relations and troubled families.

Territorial public prevention centres were informed in a timely manner of the issuance of restraining orders to enable them to take appropriate measures and, afterward, to conduct joint measures with the families in which the violence had been committed, as well as ongoing work to prevent the violence;

5.On an ongoing basis, district administrative authorities, main internal affairs directorates, NGOs and crisis centres have revitalized interaction with civil society organizations and brought other NGOs into the process and have recruited the Sezim Crisis Centre ― which protects the interests of women victims of violence, trafficking or sexual exploitation ― for joint work;

6.Arranged meetings with victims to discuss family violence, and included the public and the media in the discussions. Placed informational materials on violence against women in every city police station, public prevention centre, municipal territorial administration, district internal affairs directorate, social protection authority, educational institution and health-care organization of Bishkek for victims of family violence;

7.Set up direct interaction with representatives of civil society, NGOs, the Sezim Crisis Centre and local self-governing bodies to enhance the effectiveness of the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women;

8.Set up direct interaction with representatives of civil society, NGOs, the Sezim Crisis Centre and local self-governing bodies to enhance the effectiveness of the eradication of discrimination against women; [sic]

9.Developed and implemented measures aimed at the following:

—Expansion of the economic opportunities of women;

—Job placement in bodies of State and municipal authority;

—Skill upgrades and career advancement.

Local self-governing bodies in the cities of Bishkek and Osh have gained approval through local resolutions of plans for specific actions in 2012 to eliminate violence against women. Incorporated in those plans are activities such as conduct of the annual 16-day campaign “16 Days against Violence against Women”; activities involving law enforcement practices with regard to regulatory and legal enactments; monitoring; ongoing media-based outreach among the public; seminars, round tables, meetings and training sessions in oblast and rayon administrations, in the Mayor’s office and in law enforcement entities to inform women and girls of their rights and of the liability associated with the violation of those rights.