Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law

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.

A print version of much of the information contained in this Central Asian Third Sector Organizations section can be found in Civil Society in Central Asia (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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Last updated:    November 1998