Kyrgyzstan - February 2024

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament approved the second reading of a much-criticized ‘foreign representatives’ bill on the second reading on 22 February. The draft bill requires NGOs that receive foreign funding to register as “foreign representatives”, submit annual audits, and be subjected to other bureaucratic requirements that critics say will require most to cease operations. The bill has been criticized by domestic civil society, international human rights NGOs, OSCE officials, and the United States government for its negative impact on civil society in the country, who have noted its close relation to Russia’s infamous “foreign agent” legislation. The bill is expected to pass a third reading and be signed into law by President Sadyr Japarov, who has championed the bill and singled out American criticism as hypocritical, citing the dissimilar but similarly named American Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Sources: Eurasianet (1), Eurasianet (2), The Diplomat, Civil Rights Defenders