President Sadyr Japarov signed the law “On Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations” on 21 January, which rights advocates and religious leaders say exerts too much control over religious affairs and encroaches on individual civil liberties. The law bans the bearing of religious face coverings, such as the Islamic niqab, in public places, ‘coercive’ attempts at religious conversions, and religious ceremonies in nursing homes and correctional institutions. The use of religious words or terms in the names of legal entities is also banned. Private religious lessons outside of approved institutions are prohibited and pursuing religious studies abroad is only possible with explicit government approval. Religious teachers will also be licensed and their activities strictly curtailed. The law is expected to infringe on the rights of minority religions that have frequently struggled with state pressure, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as Muslims who do not conform to the state definition of Islamic orthodoxy.

Sources: Havli, Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Times of Central Asia

Hundreds of Pakistani university students fled Kyrgyzstan in May 2024 after a seemingly minor altercation between Pakistani students and Kyrgyz youth at a Bishkek restaurant escalated into the storming of an international student dormitory by 700 Kyrgyz youths. The attacks resulted in 41 hospitalizations and by 20 May, 1,200 Pakistani students at Kyrgyzstan International University had returned home. Observers credited the escalation and violence with growing sentiments – that the government has been unable or unwilling to counteract - that South Asians are replacing Kyrgyz workers in areas where foreign students often take part-time jobs such as taxis, food couriers, and car washes.

Sources: Eurasianet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Havli

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

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