Kyrgyzstan - April 2024

President Sadyr Japarov signed into law on 2 April a bill requiring all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive foreign funding to register as ‘“foreign representatives’” and be subjected to reporting and audit requirements. Organizations that do not comply will face strict penalties, and the text defines NGOs broadly enough to include schools, sports clubs, and children’s organizations, but how and where the law will be enforced is unclear. Some NGOs have proactively ceased operations to avoid future fines for noncompliance, and the Open Society Foundations closed its long-running grant-making operation in the country to avoid either it or its grant recipients being targeted by the law. The Kyrgyz state has outsourced much social service provision, including healthcare and education, to foreign-funded NGOs for decades and the impact of the law on socioeconomic conditions is expected to be significant.

Sources: The Diplomat, Eurasianet, Open Society Foundations

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development blocked TikTok in the country on 17 April, following the conclusion of the State Committee for National Security that the app harmed ‘“the health of children [and] their intellectual, mental, spiritual and moral development.’” Reporters without Borders (RSF) criticized the ban for restricting freedom of expression and information. The ban follows a string of arrests and pressure on independent media outlets in the country that long had the most open media environment in the region.

Sources: Eurasianet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty