Review of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 23 June 2022 (24th sitting) (see Doc. 15526, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr Jacques Maire; and Doc. 15553, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Serhii Kalchenko). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 23 June 2022 (24th sitting).
1. On 8 April 2014, the Parliamentary
Assembly, in adopting
Resolution
1984 (2014) “Request for partnership for democracy status
with the Parliamentary Assembly submitted by the Parliament of the
Kyrgyz Republic”, granted partner for democracy status to the Kyrgyz
Parliament. That body thus became the third parliament, and the
first in central Asia, to be granted this status introduced by the
Assembly in 2009 to develop institutional co-operation with the
parliaments of States neighbouring the Council of Europe.
2. When making its official request, the Parliament of the Kyrgyz
Republic declared that it shared the values upheld by the Council
of Europe and entered into a number of political commitments in
accordance with Rule 64.2 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
These commitments are set out in paragraph 4 of
Resolution 1984 (2014).
3. In paragraph 15 of the aforementioned resolution, the Assembly
also considered that a number of specific measures were of key importance
for strengthening democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms in Kyrgyzstan. It underlined that progress
in taking forward reforms was the prime aim of the partnership for
democracy and should constitute the benchmark for assessing its
efficiency.
4. Eight years after granting this status, the Assembly notes
the controversial, to say the least, evolution of the political
and institutional situation in the country and concludes that its
partnership with the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic has produced
mixed results.
5. It regrets in particular that the parliament has been unable
to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the partnership in
order to take democratic reforms forward in the country, bring it
closer to the European common legal area and contribute to European
political dialogue.
6. The Assembly likewise regrets the fact that, since being granted
partner for democracy status, the Kyrgyz Republic has not acceded
to any Council of Europe conventions or partial agreements, despite
having pledged to do so.
7. The Assembly also notes that the political crisis in Kyrgyzstan,
which occurred after the October 2020 elections, laid bare the weaknesses
and failings of the country’s democratic institutions. The constitutional reform
launched in the wake of this crisis brought about a radical shift
in the country’s institutional balance, gave the new president wider
powers, altered the parliament’s structure and curtailed its powers.
8. In this context, the Assembly laments the fact that the authorities
of Kyrgyzstan have not taken account of the recommendations made
by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
in its urgent amicus curiae brief on the postponement of the elections
due to the constitutional reform (11 December 2020) and its Joint
Opinion (No. 1021/2021) with the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR) on the draft constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic (19
March 2021).
9. The Assembly also takes note of the result of the November
2021 parliamentary elections, observed by an ad hoc committee of
the Bureau of the Assembly, and of the formation of a new parliament
in December 2021. It regrets that the changes made to the electoral
legislation and system just a few days prior to the start of the
campaign deprived a large proportion of the population, in particular
women and young people, of the right to be elected to parliament.
10. The Assembly continues to closely monitor the constitutional,
institutional, political and legal reforms carried out in Kyrgyzstan
with a view to modernising and stabilising the country’s political
institutions. The Assembly notes the readiness, as observed by the
international community present in the country, of the recently
elected Kyrgyz authorities – more specifically, the parliament –
to co-operate, including in relation to reforms and institutions,
with concrete results. With regard to the legislative stocktaking
process launched in April 2021 by the government with the aim of
bringing the laws into line with the new constitution, the Assembly calls
on the parliament to ensure that it does not undermine Kyrgyzstan's
international commitments to uphold human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
11. On this matter, the Assembly is concerned about recent reports
from representatives of Kyrgyz civil society and international governmental
and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about violations of human
rights and fundamental freedoms. These violations relate, in particular,
to gender issues, the practice of torture and ill-treatment, particularly
in detention or police custody, impunity for such acts, poor conditions
of detention, enforced disappearances, issues concerning access
to an independent and impartial tribunal, the right to a fair trial
and fundamental legal safeguards for persons in pretrial detention.
The Assembly is also concerned about violations of the right to
freedom of expression and assembly. In this respect, the Assembly notes
in particular the deterioration in the situation of journalists,
human rights defenders and lawyers, as evidenced by several recent
cases.
12. The Assembly notes the interest in and desire to continue
with the partnership for democracy expressed by representatives
of the parliament, the government and civil society.
13. It also notes the international context in which Kyrgyzstan
is situated and its willingness to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine,
not to associate itself with Russian aggression and to advocate
a strictly peaceful settlement of disputes between these two countries.
14. In conclusion, the Assembly resolves to continue the partnership
with the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic in order to support the
country’s authorities along the path to democracy while at the same
time maintaining a rigorous dialogue with them and reassessing the
partnership in depth in two years’ time based on an analysis of
tangible progress. The prolonged absence of Kyrgyz parliamentarians
from the sessions and of concrete results, notably on the effective
ratification of conventions or protocols, could lead to the partnership being
terminated.
15. The Assembly therefore reiterates its appeal to the newly
elected Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic to step up its co-operation
with the Assembly, reaffirm its commitment to the aims of the partner
for democracy status and take full advantage of the opportunities
offered by this status in order to ensure compliance with the political
commitments, as set out in
Resolution
1984 (2014). In this context, it welcomes the recent
appointment of the new partner delegation.
16. The Assembly urges the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic to:
16.1 tirelessly pursue efforts to
fulfil the political commitments made in connection with the partnership for
democracy (Rule 64.2 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure and paragraph
4 of
Resolution 1984 (2014))
and the recommendations set out in paragraph 15 of that resolution;
16.2 ensure, as part of the legislative stocktaking process,
that fundamental rights and freedoms in the country are upheld,
in accordance with the relevant international instruments to which
Kyrgyzstan is a party;
16.3 intervene with the authorities of Kyrgyzstan in order
to encourage them to sign and ratify the relevant Council of Europe
conventions and partial agreements open to non-member States – more specifically,
those relating to human rights, the rule of law and democracy, in
accordance with the commitment expressed by the Speaker of the Parliament
of the Kyrgyz Republic in the letter of application for partner
for democracy status, as mentioned in paragraph 17 of
Resolution 1984 (2014);
16.4 participate fully in the work of the Assembly and its
committees;
16.5 inform the Assembly regularly of the progress made in
implementing the Council of Europe’s principles.
17. The Assembly strongly encourages the Kyrgyz authorities to:
17.1 step up the implementation of
the recommendations made in paragraph 15 of
Resolution 1984 (2014) of the Assembly
and develop a plan of implementation for the next two years, drawing
in particular on the Council of Europe’s expertise;
17.2 boost co-operation with the Venice Commission in order
to bring the country’s laws closer to international standards and
to implement the previous recommendations, in particular with regard
to elections, and those included in the Joint Opinion (No. 1021/2021)
on the draft constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic;
17.3 adhere to the United Nations International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
17.4 stop pressure on the media and NGOs, whether in the form
of threats, intimidation, fines, tax inspections, searches, arbitrary
arrests or false accusations;
17.5 guarantee and promote the right to freedom of association
and peaceful assembly and ensure that civil society organisations
can work freely and contribute to public debate;
17.6 guarantee and promote freedom of expression and media
independence and pluralism and protect the media from political
pressure;
17.7 strengthen their efforts to promote women’s participation
in politics and public affairs, combat all forms of gender-based
discrimination, ensure effective equality between women and men
and combat violence against women.
