Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

115th session

Summary record of the 3153rd meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Thursday, 1 May 2025, at 3 p.m.

Chair:Mr. Balcerzak

Contents

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States Parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports of Kyrgyzstan

The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States Parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports of Kyrgyzstan (CERD/C/KGZ/11‑12; CERD/C/KGZ/Q/11-12)

At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Kyrgyzstan joined the meeting.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan, introducing his country’s combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports (CERD/C/KGZ/11-12), said that the rights and freedoms of all persons without distinction as to racial or ethnic affiliation had been absolute and immutable in Kyrgyzstan since the country had gained independence and that it complied fully with its obligations under the Convention. Since 2013, the Coordinating Council on Human Rights attached to the Cabinet of Ministers had worked to improve mechanisms for upholding human and civil rights and implement international human rights obligations. The members of the Council, which was headed by the Vice-Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers, included heads of key State bodies involved in human rights protection.

A universal system for ensuring the registration of all births had been put in place with a view to preventing statelessness. Bills on accession to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness were currently under public discussion. In their judgments, the courts applied not only Kyrgyz law but also international instruments to which Kyrgyzstan was a Party. The Convention was thus an integral part of the Kyrgyz legal system.

The President had approved the National Development Strategy for the period 2018–2040, some of the main goals of which were to ensure inter-ethnic harmony, strengthen national unity and protect civil rights without distinction as to ethnicity. The Concept for the Development of the Civic Identity of the Kyrgyz Zharany (Citizen of Kyrgyzstan) for the period 2021–2026, the objectives of which included increasing tolerance, preserving respect for the values of diversity, preserving and developing multilingualism and creating a level playing field in terms of access to governance and decision-making processes, had been developed with the involvement of experts from the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, PeaceNexus Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, the Regional Office for Central Asia of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and heads of the 30 ethnic voluntary associations that existed under the Assembly of the Peoples of Kyrgyzstan, an entity that helped preserve the languages, cultures and traditions of the country’s ethnic groups.

A national agency that had been established under the Office of the President in 2025 was responsible for implementing State policy in the area of religious relations, strengthening inter-ethnic harmony, detecting incipient inter-ethnic conflicts and preventing them. In recent years, in fact, community liaison offices for inter-ethnic relations had organized numerous activities related to the early detection and prevention of inter-ethnic conflicts. Nearly 3,300 petitions and communications, including 879 oral communications, had been dealt with. As a result, the number of inter-ethnic incidents reported had fallen by 75 per cent.

Mr. Guan (Country Rapporteur) said that he would welcome an explanation, including examples, of how the State Party applied the principle of self-identification when collecting data. It would be useful to know what progress the State Party had made towards adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in line with the provisions of the Convention, as the Committee had recommended in its previous concluding observations (CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10, para. 11). He would appreciate more information about recent legislative amendments, including the provisions intended to combat racial discrimination in the Criminal Code of 2019, and about the comprehensive anti-discrimination bill that had been discussed in the Zhogorku Kenesh, the legislature of Kyrgyzstan, in July 2023. He wished to know in particular why discussion of that bill had subsequently been removed from the legislative agenda.

He wondered whether statistical data on criminal cases initiated in relation to incidents of incitement to ethnic, racial, religious or interregional hostility that the State Party had provided in its report referred only to cases submitted to the courts or to all cases handled by law enforcement agencies. It would be helpful to hear whether the Kyrgyz judicial system had internal guidelines for handling cases involving racial discrimination, whether there were mechanisms for cooperation in relation to cases involving such discrimination and especially whether there were rules and procedures for cooperation between judicial bodies and human rights institutions, including the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy). It would be helpful, too, to learn whether regular training courses on combating racial discrimination were held for judicial personnel, procuratorial officials and judges in particular and, if so, how frequently such courses were held, how long they were and what specific topics they covered. In addition, it would be interesting to learn whether the Convention had been invoked or applied by the courts and, if so, in which cases.

He would be grateful for information on the phased outcomes and preliminary achievements of the Concept for the Development of the Civic Identity of the Kyrgyz Zharany, the National Development Strategy and the State Programme for the Security and Socioeconomic Development of Certain Border Areas of Kyrgyzstan with Special Status for the period 2021–2025. It would be useful to know, too, what remained to be achieved under those initiatives with a view to meeting the requirements of the Convention and following up on the Committee’s recommendations.

He wished to know what steps had been taken to strengthen the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) to effectively promote human rights and monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention in an independent and transparent manner and to ensure that it had the financial and human resources it needed. He would welcome more information on the outcome of the 2017 submission to the Zhogorku Kenesh of a bill aimed at strengthening the independence of the Office and an explanation of the events that had led to the dismissal of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) in 2023. It would be helpful to receive statistical data on the cases of racist hate speech, incitement to racial hatred and racist hate crimes previously reported by the State Party, disaggregated by oblast, the ethnic groups involved, the root causes of the conflicts, the completion rate of trials and other criteria.

He commended the State Party for the events organized in 2022 by the community liaison offices for inter-ethnic relations as part of efforts to combat racial discrimination. However, it appeared that similar training programmes had not been put in place for police and other law enforcement officers.

The Committee had received reports of inequality in the participation of ethnic groups in domestic political and public activities in the State Party and of racial discrimination in the enforcement of laws and regulations and in trials. Could the delegation inform the Committee of measures taken or envisaged to ensure that police and other law enforcement officers did not engage in racial discrimination, especially racially motivated violence and practices that amounted to racial profiling?

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the bill on equality and protection from discrimination had been prepared by a group of lawmakers. The legislative committee on social policy had sent the bill back for further consultation with all stakeholders. The bill was still under review.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that Kyrgyzstan was a multi-ethnic State with 100 ethnic groups and an overall population of 7.2 million. According to the 2022 census, the Kyrgyz people accounted for slightly more than three quarters of the population. There were also Uzbek, Russian, Dzungar, Uighur, Kazakh, Turkish and other minority groups. Members of the largest minority, the Uzbek minority, lived mainly in the south of the country. Ethnic Russians lived mainly in the north.

People responding to the census had the right to state their ethnic identity or to decline to do so and were free to answer as they wished. The National Statistics Committee then published a comprehensive account of the information.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the courts, which provided effective protection from all forms of discrimination, treated everyone equally, regardless of skin colour or ethnic origin. Several special laws contained provisions guarding against discrimination. The State Legal Aid Act, for example, covered not only Kyrgyz nationals who needed legal aid but also foreigners, stateless persons and refugees. The Family Code and the legislation on equal opportunities for men and women and on protection from domestic violence contained provisions on gender discrimination. The Labour Code and the legislation on competition and foreign trade prohibited discrimination in employment. There was legislation prohibiting discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS and protecting their interests and fundamental freedoms. Cases arising in all those areas were also subject to the provisions of international law, including the Convention. In addition, the provisions of national law could be challenged in court and, if found to conflict with the Convention or the Constitution, must be repealed.

Under the Criminal Code, perpetrators of offences motivated by discrimination on ethnic, religious or national grounds could incur a harsher penalty. The Code also established liability for the violation of the equality of persons on ethnic, nationality, linguistic or other grounds. Activities intended to spread religious, national or ethnic hatred, undermine dignity or promote supremacy were punishable under the Code. In some circumstances, criminal acts committed on racial, ethnic or religious grounds could be deemed crimes against humanity or genocide.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the legislation governing law enforcement agencies prohibited all forms of discrimination. The personnel of such agencies attended some 1,000 hours of courses in human rights, as well as courses in human rights-based approaches and in constitutional law, at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy where they were trained. In-service training, covering subjects such as protection of human rights, prevention of discrimination, the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, as well as relevant legislation, including international treaties, was also provided at the Academy. Similar training courses were offered to officials from bodies such as the Procurator General’s Office and to court officials. The Ministry of Internal Affairs training staff also worked with representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) and the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture on the provision of training.

As part of efforts to protect the rights of all, disciplinary cases had been brought against 8,287 law enforcement officers in 2024 and against 2,519 in the first trimester of 2025. Since 2018, a central register had been maintained to record complaints from citizens against the police, regardless of the complainant’s origin, beliefs or ethnicity.

In 2023, 53 cases of incitement to racial or ethnic hatred had been brought, of which 7 had been closed and 3 were still under consideration; in 2024, 47 cases had been brought, of which 5 had been closed, 6 had been suspended and 3 were still under consideration.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that, to enhance the effectiveness of the courts and ensure that members of the judiciary were aware of all issues pertaining to racial discrimination, the Higher Judicial Academy had provided training courses to 429 judges since 2019, covering international standards of human rights protection and their implementation in judicial decisions. Kyrgyzstan had 470 courts; there were currently 22 vacant judicial posts; 38 per cent of posts were occupied by women; members of the Russian, Tatar, Kurdish and other ethnic minority groups served on the bench.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) had been established in 2023, in accordance with the Constitution, to oversee the realization of citizens’ human rights. The Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) Act was to be replaced by a constitutional act that had been drafted by lawmakers in consultation with the Office and representatives of the United Nations and the European Union and was currently before the Zhogorku Kenesh. The aim was to bring the Office into line with the Paris Principles. The bill would increase the independence of the Office and facilitate its handling of administrative and criminal cases. The effectiveness of the Office had already been enhanced by a budget increase and the establishment of regional branches.

Mr. Guan said that he would like to know whether the National Statistics Committee was a governmental body with a fixed mandate to organize the national census. He would be interested to know, too, how many staff members the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) employed and what professional sectors they represented. He would also appreciate information about the Office’s sources of funding and its recent annual budgets. He wondered how the Office worked with the courts and law enforcement agencies and how many regional branches it had.

Ms. McDougall said that she would like to know more about the disciplinary cases brought against the police and, in particular, how many of them had concerned racial or ethnic discrimination and how many had resulted in convictions.

Mr. Kut said that he would like to know whether the State Party could provide a clear definition of the Concept for the Development of the Civic Identity of the Kyrgyz Zharany. He wondered how the Concept translated into policies or a programme, how any resulting policies or programmes were implemented and how their outcome was assessed.

Mr. Diaby said that he would like to know whether the attachment of the Coordinating Council on Human Rights to the Cabinet of Ministers ensured the Council’s independence. He would also be interested to know what contribution the Council had made to the State Party’s report and what its relationship with civil society was. Lastly, he would appreciate further information on the law requiring a non-profit organization to declare any funding it received or face a ban and forfeit its status as an organization.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the Office of the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) had branches that promoted and protected human rights in all seven oblasts. The Office currently employed 115 staff members, and its budget increased every year. It had various departments involved in different spheres of activity related to the promotion and protection of human rights. For example, one department handled complaints from citizens; another attended court proceedings in order to monitor compliance with the rights and freedoms of the parties to proceedings. The Office also cooperated with law enforcement agencies and monitored their compliance with human rights obligations.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that article 109 of the Constitution provided the legal basis for the oversight of judicial proceedings by the Office. The Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) Act stated that the Ombudsman (Akyikatchy) could attend the hearings of the first and second instance courts and the Supreme Court, including closed sessions, subject to the consent of the person in whose interests the proceedings were being held in camera.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that human rights training was provided for all law enforcement officers, with the participation of representatives of international organizations and non-profit organizations working in the area of human rights. The figures that the delegation had provided on disciplinary cases did not include administrative or criminal offences. Any citizen on the territory of Kyrgyzstan could submit a complaint to the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the actions of law enforcement officers. Complaints were investigated internally and, if it was determined that a criminal offence had been committed, would be referred to the Procurator’s Office for a legal opinion. The increase in the number of cases reflected improvements in the recording of complaints. About half of complaints were upheld after the internal investigation.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that National Statistics Committee was the main State authority responsible for the collection, analysis and publication of official statistics, including in areas such as demographics, economics, the health sector and agriculture. It produced regular statistical bulletins and conducted a census every 10 years.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the aims of the Kyrgyz Zharany Concept included ensuring respect for the Constitution and for equality of citizens and non‑discrimination on religious, ethnic, social and regional grounds, striking the right balance between obligations and rights, ensuring respect for diversity and the expression of different views, supporting partnerships and civic identity and strengthening statehood.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the State Programme for the Security and Socioeconomic Development of Certain Border Areas of Kyrgyzstan with Special Status had been adopted to strengthen border security, improve the living conditions of people living in border areas though socioeconomic and infrastructure development and reduce internal and inter-State migration. An annual budget of 250 million soms had been allocated to the Programme in 2024 and 2025. The second stage of the Programme, currently being implemented, covered activities related to the development of agriculture and irrigation, improvements to the road network, the upgrading of the energy supply and disaster risk reduction. The Government was also working on a comprehensive programme for regional socioeconomic development, a separate programme that included a different set of actions related to the development of mountainous and remote areas.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the completion of work on the demarcation of the country’s shared borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had made a significant contribution to the development of border areas.

The meeting was suspended at 4.35 p.m. and resumed at 4.50 p.m.

Ms. Tebie (Country Task Force), noting that, in its previous concluding observations (CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10), the Committee had expressed concern about the small number of complaints of racial or ethnic discrimination lodged in the State Party, said that she would appreciate information on the outcomes of the 167 applications that had been submitted to the community liaison offices for inter-ethnic issues. She would be grateful for recent statistics on complaints of racial or ethnic discrimination filed with the courts, the community liaison offices or other national institutions. Such statistics should include data on racist hate speech and hate crimes, together with an indication of the number of relevant investigations, prosecutions and convictions. She wondered what had been done to ensure that judicial guarantees functioned effectively for victims of racial discrimination and that such victims had access to the support services foreseen under the State Legal Aid Act.

Rural women and women and girls belonging to ethnic minorities, such as the Uzbek, Tajik and Dungan minorities, were, according to reports, particularly vulnerable to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. They remained underrepresented in public affairs and political life, while patriarchal norms and socioeconomic barriers limited their access to education and professional opportunities. She would therefore be glad to receive statistics on the representation of ethnic minority women in public and political institutions. She wondered what obstacles prevented such women from participating in public and political life and what measures were being taken to overcome them. It would be useful to know whether any educational or awareness-raising activities had been organized to promote equal opportunities or combat stereotypes and whether the State Party had any mechanisms, such as quotas, to increase the representation and participation of ethnic minority women in public affairs and political life.

The Committee had been informed that, in 2023, there had been a spate of suicides of young women in the village of Andarak, Batken Oblast. The women, reportedly of Tajik ethnicity, had been experiencing social and economic problems, including gender-based violence. She wished to know how the State Party ensured that gender-based violence cases were effectively investigated, including in the Andarak cases, how it provided women and girls from minorities with access to basic social services and what campaigns had been conducted to combat sexist stereotypes and tolerance of violence against women.

She would appreciate detailed information on the steps taken to involve representatives of the LGBTQ+ community and sex workers, particularly those from ethnic minorities, in educational initiatives and awareness campaigns, to improve the delivery of services to LGBTQ+ persons and to combat discrimination and stigmatization against them. As the Zhogorku Kenesh had reportedly adopted a law on the protection of children from harmful information, which prohibited the dissemination of information deemed to be contrary to family values or to promote non-traditional sexual relations, she asked how the State Party had defined “family values” and “non-traditional sexual relations”, whether those definitions had been publicly debated and how the Government ensured that the law did not undermine the fundamental rights of sexual minorities.

The Committee was troubled by reports of violations of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly, with journalists, civil society organizations and human rights defenders particularly affected. In 2023, Kyrgyzstan had plummeted 50 places in the World Press Freedom Index, to 122nd out of 180 countries. She wished to know the reasons for the troubling situation and what had been done to ensure that journalists, civil society organizations and human rights defenders were not persecuted or subjected to intimidation or reprisals for their activities. She would welcome information on mechanisms to guarantee freedom of expression and on the steps taken, if any, to secure the release of persons who had been arrested and prosecuted for exercising their rights.

She would like to know why the State Party had adopted a law on what it termed foreign agents to amend the Non-Profit Organizations Act and how it intended to address the concerns that the new law had prompted. She wondered whether the new law would force some non-profit organizations to close down or self-censor, hampering legitimate activities such as human rights awareness-raising, monitoring and reporting, and what safeguards had been put in place to ensure that non-profit organizations could operate freely, regardless of whether they received foreign funding. In addition, in view of the reported increase in negative attitudes towards the work of such organizations, which stood accused of being foreign agents hostile to the Government, and reports that human rights defenders were fleeing the country, she would like to know what legal safeguards were in place to protect human rights defenders and non-profit organizations from interference and harassment. She wished to know whether the Government might repeal the law on foreign agents, as several international and national bodies had recommended.

She wished to know, too, why freedom of assembly had been curtailed – the Peaceful Assembly Act had been amended to prohibit assemblies in many of the country’s cities – what safeguards had been put in place to ensure that the prohibition did not violate fundamental freedoms and why it did not apply to events organized by the authorities. It would be useful to hear about any measures taken to prevent the arbitrary interpretation of the law and abuses by the security forces and about the remedies that people who were punished under the new provisions could avail themselves of.

Lastly, the Committee had been informed of new laws, promulgated in January 2025, whose effect had been to criminalize and marginalize religious minorities. The laws included a ban on wearing religious garments such as the niqab in State institutions or in public, a requirement for religious groups with fewer than 500 followers to register with the authorities and to re-register every 10 years and a ban on preaching other than in places of worship. She wondered how the State Party justified those restrictions and whether they violated the right to freedom of religion or belief. It would be interesting to know why the registration requirement applied only to religious groups with fewer than 500 followers and what measures were envisaged to protect religious minorities from marginalization and discrimination as a result of the new laws.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that non-profit organizations, of which his country had tens of thousands, played an important role in the country’s social, cultural and economic life and made a real contribution to the development of society. In April 2024, amendments to the Non-Profit Organizations Act had been adopted to increase transparency and accountability, notably through the creation of a public register in which such organizations would provide information about their activities and their sources of funding. That information would then be made available to the public through the Ministry of Justice website.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that, between 2023 and 2025, 117 cases relating to incitement to racial or ethnic hatred involving different ethnic groups had been registered. Some of those cases had been referred to the courts, some had been closed for lack of evidence, some had been suspended pending an investigation and some had been merged with other cases. In Kyrgyzstan, all citizens were equal before the law, irrespective of their ethnic identity. The procuratorial officials, who took an objective approach, permitted no inter-ethnic or interreligious hatred.

Prosecutions were always brought against perpetrators of forced marriage, which was considered a serious offence. A large number of organizations worked to prevent domestic violence in collaboration with State agencies. A State-funded crisis centre provided assistance to victims of domestic violence, and awareness-raising campaigns were conducted in a bid to combat such violence. In that connection, videos were shown in schools and universities, and training was provided to law enforcement officers. Internal affairs and other officials had developed guidelines on the measures that should be taken in response to reports of domestic violence. The law provided for the issuance of temporary protection orders. Information on cases of domestic violence was entered into an electronic database.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that, under article 71 of the Criminal Code, persons whose rights had been violated were entitled to compensation for any moral harm that they had suffered. Under the Civil Code, victims could obtain financial compensation through civil proceedings. Perpetrators could be ordered by the courts to pay financial compensation to their victims.

All citizens had equal access to justice, including members of the LGBTQI community. In 2015, activists from a nationalist movement had attacked participants in an event organized to combat homophobia. A decision had been taken to bring proceedings against a person charged with assaulting one of the participants in the event. The lower court had referred the case to the Procurator’s Office in Bishkek for further investigation, but the case had not yet been referred back to the court. In 2018, a transgender woman had sued a television station that had broadcast a video of her without her consent. The court, which had ruled in her favour, had fined the television station.

Seven women had attempted suicide in the small town of Andarak. Five of those women had died. According to information received by the authorities, the families of the women concerned had been experiencing financial difficulties. Investigations had determined that they had not been subjected to any discrimination.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the State and the municipal authorities employed around 21,000 civil servants. Women accounted for 35 per cent of staff in the State services and around 45 per cent of the staff in the municipal services. Forty-four per cent of female civil servants had minority ethnic backgrounds. Civil servants were recruited from regional and municipal rosters. There was no quota system.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the purpose of the bill on the freedom of worship and religious associations was to strengthen legal protection of the right to freedom of worship and religious association in line with the international obligations of Kyrgyzstan. When the bill became law, it would provide for the registration of religious facilities, religious charitable foundations and the establishment of a State register of religious bodies and facilities. The bill also contained provisions relating to the authorized State body for religious affairs and media; labour relations in religious organizations and educational institutions; and regulations concerning social security and social insurance for employees of religious organizations and educational institutions.

The bill had been drafted because the previous version of the law had been adopted in 2008 and was now out of date. Its purpose was not to discriminate against any religious group. Freedom of worship was a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution and the international instruments ratified by Kyrgyzstan. The bill did not contain any provisions intended to ban religious articles of clothing, although it did contain an article that would prohibit coverage of the face in State institutions or in public, except where such coverings were necessary for medical or other specified reasons. It would not prohibit preaching, either, although it would prohibit proselytizing door to door.

The previous version of the law had required all churches and mosques to register as religious organizations; under the new version, they had the option of registering as a religious facility. Organizations were not required to have 500 members in order to register. One of the aims of the bill was to simplify the registration procedure.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the Constitution provided for the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. However, restrictions had been imposed on the holding of demonstrations. In order to ensure public safety, any organization or citizen who intended to hold a demonstration was required to inform the State authorities in advance. The State and local authorities were required to protect the rights of all citizens, including those who did not participate in demonstrations. They should therefore have the right to stop unauthorized demonstrations if they threatened public safety.

A representative of Kyrgyzstan said that the Media Act had been adopted in 1992 and therefore did not address subsequent technological developments. In 2024, following a meeting between the President and the heads of media networks, a bill on the media had been approved. After having been considered by the Zhogorku Kenesh, the bill had subsequently been withdrawn to undergo further revision. On the instructions of the President, a new working group consisting of lawmakers, independent journalists, lawyers and observers from international organizations had been set up to produce a final draft of the bill. Once the working group had completed its review, the bill had been subjected to public consultation and sent to the Office of the President. The latest version of the bill was a compromise that had been endorsed by civil society and independent journalists.

Act No. 101 of 23 August 2021 of the Kyrgyz Republic on Protection from Unreliable (False) Information was aimed at preventing the spread of inaccurate information on the Internet and did not restrict freedom of speech or the media. Since the Act had entered into force, only 25 complaints had been considered under it. Ten of them had been dismissed because they had been found not to fall within the scope of the Act, while eight had been left pending owing to incomplete information. The content that had prompted the remaining complaints had been removed from the Internet, and the website concerned had subsequently been blocked.

Ms. Tebie said that she wished to know whether any mechanisms were in place to assess the efficacy of the measures taken to combat discrimination against minorities. She would appreciate the delegation’s comments on reports that women were required to wear the niqab.

She wondered what measures were taken to enforce the prohibition of bride kidnapping. It would be interesting to learn about any steps being taken to monitor the effectiveness of measures to prevent bride kidnapping and any campaigns to raise rural women’s awareness of their rights and the legal consequences of bride kidnapping. She would welcome information on any services that provided support, including protection, counselling and access to justice, to women and girls who were victims of abduction.

She would like to know whether the State Party had accurate and up-to-date data on the extent of bride kidnapping and, if so, whether those data included information on the ethnic or religious groups that were most affected by it. What educational measures had been taken, particularly in schools and local communities, to dismantle the patriarchal norms that perpetuated the practice?

Ms. McDougall said that she wished to know whether persons from ethnic minority groups were adequately represented in lawmaking bodies and, if so, whether they participated in making laws that applied to the whole country or only laws that specifically concerned their group.

Ms. Tlakula (Follow-up Coordinator) said that, in its previous concluding observations (CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10, para. 9 (c)), the Committee had recommended that the State Party should effectively implement the Views adopted by the Human Rights Committee in the case Askarov v. Kyrgyzstan (CCPR/C/116/D/2231/2012) and consider pardoning Azimjan Askarov on humanitarian grounds, taking into account his age and deteriorating health. The State Party had replied that Mr. Askarov’s health was satisfactory and that he was being monitored by medical staff and receiving the treatment that he required. She would appreciate the delegation’s comments on Mr. Askarov’s death in prison on 25 July 2020, five days after the State Party had reported that his health had improved.

With regard to other recommendations made by the Committee, she wished to know what was being done to ensure that human rights defenders and journalists were able to work effectively, without fear of reprisals, and that all reported cases of intimidation or harassment were promptly and thoroughly investigated. It would be useful to know, too, whether the State Party had refrained from placing organizations promoting and protecting human rights on the list of extremist organizations and whether it had amended the law on combating extremist activities to establish safeguards against arbitrary inclusion on the list.

Mr. Diaby said that he wished to know how the Coordinating Council on Human Rights could function independently of the executive authorities when it reported to the Cabinet of Ministers and was headed by the Cabinet’s Vice-Chair. He wondered how many of the State Party’s many civil society organizations were working to combat racial discrimination and how many had participated in the consultations held to prepare for the constructive dialogue.

Mr. Yeung Sik Yuen said that he would welcome further information on the reasons why the case involving an assault on a member of the LGBT community in 2015 had not yet been referred back to the lower court. In particular, it would be useful to know whether the Procurator’s Office had decided not to proceed with the prosecution or whether a settlement had been reached. He was also curious to know whether the State Party considered that the fine imposed on a television station for broadcasting a video of a transgender woman without her consent was proportionate to the offence.

The meeting rose at 6 p.m.