Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has a dynamic political landscape, but shortcomings in judicial independence and law enforcement accountability erode Kyrgyzstan’s democratic progress. Long-term human rights concerns have persisted under President Soronbai Jeenbekov’s leadership, even as the president appeared to seek more constructive engagement with civil society. Authorities continue to deny justice to victims of the June 2010 inter-ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan and wrongfully keep human rights defender Azimjon Askarov imprisoned, despite the March 2016 UN Human Rights Committee ruling that he should be released. Kyrgyzstan strengthened its law against domestic violence, but impunity for this abuse persists. Several foreign human rights workers and a foreign correspondent remain banned from Kyrgyzstan.