Kyrgyz-American Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law


Kyrgyz-American Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law
Natalia Ablova, Director
Marina Adamovskaya, Program Officer
175 Sovetskaya St.
720011 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Tel: (3312) 26 57 54
Fax: (3312) 26 38 65
E-mail: [email protected]

Updated contact information on the Bureau of Human Rights and lists of more organizations working on human rights issues in the former Soviet Union are available in the NIS Organizations section.

The Kyrgyz-American Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law was created after an international conference titled "Human Rights and the Fate of Nations in Central Asia," held in Bishkek in December 1992. (At the conclusion of this event, it may be remembered, Uzbek agents kidnapped conference organizer and Uzbek oppositionist Abdumannov Pulatov from the center of Bishkek.)

The main task of the Bureau is to monitor human rights violations and appeal on behalf of victims to Kyrgyz government authorities or international human rights organizations. "The most alarming practice," according to the Bureau, "is the constant violation of prisoners� rights and the rights of detained persons. People are afraid to complain or make applications because they are not sure that their circumstances will change for the better..."

The Bureau�s investigations into specific human rights cases have revealed what they describe as "a complete ignorance by militiamen [police] in all subjects concerning human rights...and this is also typical of the prokuratura and the courts, especially on the local level." Accordingly, the Bureau has launched a program of human rights education in the secondary schools and universities.

Another major focus of the Bureau is to develop a regular exchange of information between Kyrgyz human rights groups using computer networks. There are local civil rights groups in Osh, Jalal-Abad and Naryin, but communication among them at present is very limited.

For further information, contact the organization with information provided above.

This article is from the March 1995 issue of
Civil Society ... East and West

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The URL for this page is: http://www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/csew/95-03/kyrghr.htm
Last updated: March 28 1996

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