U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

As Delivered by Ana Padelino

The United States welcomes the Kyrgyz delegation to the UPR working group.

We recommend that the Kyrgyz Republic:

1. Credibly address allegations of arbitrary detention and torture by authorities and uphold obligations under the Convention against Torture to hold perpetrators accountable and prohibit the use of evidence obtained through torture.
2. Uphold its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, particularly with respect to minorities, including by improving their economic livelihood opportunities, implementing best practices in policing, and protecting the right of all individuals to practice their faiths freely through the approval of all religious organizations seeking to register.
3. Strengthen democratic institutions by protecting freedom of expression and media freedom, both online and offline, eliminating corruption at all levels by holding officials and non-state actors accountable, and protecting civil society’s role in promoting good governance and transparency.

We urge the government to release human rights defender Azimjan Askarov on humanitarian grounds.  We also note the 2019 amendment to the law on extremism has helped better protect freedom of religion or belief.