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Kyrgyzstan: Women’s Activists Detained

Investigate Attacks on Marchers

(Berlin) – Kyrgyzstan police held about 70 activists, most of them women, for hours on March 8, 2020 without telling them the grounds for their detention or providing access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today. The activists had themselves…
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Kyrgyzstan: New Domestic Violence Law

Government Moves to Improve Response to Abuse

President Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan took an important step toward curbing violence against women when he signed a new domestic violence law and accompanying legislation on April 27, 2017, Human Rights Watch said…
Young women in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Nearly one-third of women in Kyrgyzstan experience abuse by a spouse or partner.
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Central Asia: Make Improving Rights a Priority

End Torture; Respect Basic Freedoms

(Berlin) – Central Asia's political leaders should focus on urgently needed improvements to basic human rights protections for their populations, as they deal with leadership succession and internal politics, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its…
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Nigeria: Harsh Law’s Severe Impact on LGBT Community

Encourages Widespread Extortion, Violence

(Banjul) – Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 (SSMPA) has made a bad situation much worse for Nigeria’s beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The law has…
A gay man in Bariga, a neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, who said he hides his identity from his friends and family.
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Central Asia: Backsliding on Rights

Activists, Groups Targeted, Persecuted by Authorities

(Berlin) – Central Asian governments ramped up pressure on nongovernmental groups and activists in 2015, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2016. The governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan arrested…
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United States: Feature Rights in Central Asia Talks

Kerry Should Press to Free Activists, Let Independent Groups Operate

(Washington, DC) – United States Secretary of State John Kerry should publicly express concern over Central Asian governments’ distinctly poor human rights records during his Central Asia visits, beginning October 31, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today…
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Kyrgyzstan: End Barriers to Help for Domestic Violence Victims

Gaps in Government Response Put Women’s Lives at Risk

(Bishkek) – Women suffering domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan lack adequate protection and access to justice due to insufficient police and judicial response, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government is doing too little to provide…
Young women in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Nearly one-third of women in Kyrgyzstan experience abuse by a spouse or partner.
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Japan: Raise Rights Concerns in Central Asia

Abe Should Make Human Rights a Core Part of His Trip

(Tokyo, October 22, 2015) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Central Asia trip is a key opportunity to raise concerns about the alarming state of human rights throughout the region and underscore the importance of reforms, Human Rights Watch said…
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Kyrgyzstan: European Leaders Should Raise Rights Concerns

LGBT Rights, Independent Groups Threatened

(Brussels) – Leaders of the European Union, France, Germany, and Switzerland should raise pressing human rights concerns and seek commitments to address them from Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev, Human Rights Watch said today. The Kyrgyzstan leader…
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Kyrgyzstan: Reject Anti-LGBT Bill

‘Propaganda’ Measure Entrenches Bias, Could Fuel Violence

June 24, 2015 Update On June 24, the anti-gay “propaganda” bill passed its second reading in parliament by a vote of 90 to 2. The bill is discriminatory and violates fundamental rights protected by both Kyrgyzstan's constitution and…
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Kyrgyzstan: Backsliding on Rights

Address Rights Abuses; Halt Homophobic Measures

(Berlin) – The Kyrgyz authorities should immediately halt the recent backsliding on human rights and take steps to protect freedom of speech, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 8, 2014, Kyrgyzstan’s human rights record will…
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Kyrgyzstan: Withdraw Draconian Homophobic Bill

Draft Legislation Would Deny Fundamental Rights

October 15, 2014 Update On October 15, the blatantly discriminatory anti-gay “propaganda” bill passed its first reading in parliament by a vote of 79 to 7, despite provisions that violate Kyrgyzstan’s constitution and its international human rights…
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Kyrgyzstan: Police Abuse, Extortion of Gay Men

Threats, Detention, Beatings, Sexual Attacks

(Bishkek) – Police in Kyrgyzstan have extorted, threatened, arbitrarily detained, beaten, and sexually abused gay and bisexual men, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Although consensual sex between men was decriminalized in Kyrgyzstan in…
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Nigeria: Anti-LGBT Law Threatens Basic Rights

‘Same-Sex Marriage’ Specter Used to Criminalize Expression, Association, Assembly

(Abuja) – The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill signed into law on January 7, 2014, by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria is a sweeping and dangerous piece of legislation, Human Rights Watch said today. The law criminalizes public displays of…
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Nigeria: President Should Veto Anti-LGBTI Bill

(Nairobi) – President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria should not sign into law a draconian new bill that would formalize discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people and have wide-ranging effects on civil liberties…
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Kyrgyzstan: Film Ban Violates Free Speech

Allow Screening of Gay Documentary; Protect Activists Promoting Film

(Bishkek) – The Kyrgyz government should lift a ban on a documentary film about gay men in Morocco and allow the film to be screened in Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today. The film, I am Gay and Muslim, shows gay men in Morocco describing their…
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Nigeria: ‘Same Gender’ Marriage Ban Would Attack Rights

Bill Would Invade Privacy, Threaten Broad Range of Activists

(Lagos) – The bill before Nigeria’s National Assembly to ban “same gender marriage” would threaten all Nigerians’ rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said today. The bill, under…
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Kyrgyzstan: Court Case Shows Lack of Accountability

Prosecutors Refuse to Investigate Torture Despite Overwhelming Evidence

(New York) - Kyrgyz authorities' refusal to investigate torture allegations in a case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court on March 29, 2011,  constitutes a serious violation of both Kyrgyz and international law, Human Rights Watch said today. Farrukh…
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Nigeria: Reject ‘Same Gender’ Marriage Ban

Bill Would Assault Rights of All, Reinforce Punishment for Homosexual Conduct

(New York) - A bill before Nigeria's National Assembly to ban "same gender marriage" would expand Nigeria's already draconian punishments for homosexual conduct and threaten all Nigerians' rights to privacy, free expression, and association, Human Rights…
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Kyrgyzstan: Protect Lesbians and Transgender Men From Abuse

European Institutions Should Help End the Violence

Based on detailed interviews, the 49-page report, “These Everyday Humiliations: Violence Against Lesbians, Bisexual Women, and Transgender Men in Kyrgyzstan,” tells of beatings, forced marriages, and physical and psychological abuse faced by lesbian and…

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