Initial report dated
11 March 1998
Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the Soviet Union in
1991. Located in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan borders China to the
east, Kazakstan to the North, Tajikistan to the Southwest and
Uzbekistan to the West. The country is a melting pot of ethnicities,
religions and cultures; ethnic Kyrgyz comprise fifty-two percent
of the country's 4.5 million inhabitants, while Russians, Kazakhs
and other Central Asian ethnic groups constitute forty percent
of the population. Seventy-five percent of Kyrgyz people identify
themselves as Muslim, and a variety of Judeo-Christian religions
are represented as well.
Following its independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan rapidly transformed
into a nation with many of the elements of a liberalized economy
and pluralistic democracy. However, both international and domestic
human rights groups and western funding agencies are becoming
increasingly concerned that the country's economic and political
development has regressed. The political landscape is characterized
by a constant gridlock between Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev
and parliament. Although Kyrgyzstan's economy continues to grow,
the average monthly income is still less than US $ 40 per month,
indicating an increasing discrepancy between rich and poor.
Kyrgyzstan struggles to become self-sufficient, but attracting
foreign investment remains a problem.
Economic Situation
Kyrgyzstan was one of the first of the former Soviet republics
to develop and implement economic reforms, becoming a model
for other nascent countries in the region. It was one of the
first to privatize state-run enterprises, and the first Central
Asian country to introduce its own currency, the som. Endorsed
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Akaev's
economic stabilization program resulted in a dramatic lowering
of the inflation rate, from over 1,000 percent in 1994 to less
than fifteen percent today. Privatization is all but complete;
Akaev is currently mobilizing support for its final phase, the
transfer of land from state to private ownership.
Kyrgyzstan's economy shows signs of huge transitions taking
place throughout the country. It is a mountainous country with
a predominantly rural economy; agriculture accounted for forty-five
percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1997.1 Cotton, wool and meat constitute the country's main exports,
but production has declined over ninety percent since 1990.
Kyrgyzstan's mining sector, if developed, could produce profitable
exports. One eighth of the world's gold reserves are located
in Kyrgyzstan, and the country invests significant resources
in developing the mining sector, having recently formed a joint
venture with a Canadian company.2
Pensioners and unemployed workers, seventy percent of whom
are women, suffer from delayed government payments and subsidies.
In 1996, eighty percent of the country's inhabitants earned
an average wage of US $ 25 or less; forty percent of all Kyrgyz
families lived below the poverty level.3
Political Situation
President Askar Akaev has led Kyrgyzstan since 1991; he was
reelected in 1995. A darling of the western donor community,
Akaev has been praised for implementing economic and political
reforms and encouraging government transparency. As in many
other post-Soviet countries, Kyrgyzstan's political landscape
is marked by constant tension between a president eager to implement
economic and political reforms supported by the IMF, World Bank,
U.S. Government and European Union, and a communist parliament
seeking to ease the effect of the transition on citizens' lives.
Though Akaev has been praised for successfully implementing
economic reforms, these reforms were often implemented by skirting
the country's new constitution and weakening Parliament's power.
Rather than adapting his decrees to achieve political compromise,
Akaev has dissolved Parliament (in 1994) and conducted referenda
to mobilize support outside of the legislative framework for
his reforms. Since 1991 Akaev has conducted and won four referenda,
each increasing the power of the executive office at the expense
of Parliament.4 Most recently, in October 1998, a nation-wide referendum passed
after parliament fought the latest phase in Akaev's privatization
program. The changes proposed in the referendum further consolidated
his domination of the government: he cut in half the number
of elected representatives in the bicameral Parliament, from
seventy to thirty eight, and increased the number of appointed
parliamentary seats from thirty-five to sixty-seven. Although
these actions were undertaken ostensibly in the name of accelerating
reforms, they have gradually dismantled the system of checks
and balances in Kyrgyzstan's post-independence constitution.
Human Rights
Kyrgyzstan's constitution provides ample opportunity for citizens
to participate in the political process, criticize their leaders
and change their government. However, the government has increasingly
displayed intolerance toward the activities of opposition parties,
human rights watchdog groups, and independent media.
For the most part, opposition activities are thwarted ostensibly
for bureaucratic reasons, under the pretense, for instance,
that a group's registration papers are not in order. In October
1998, the Ministry of Justice notified the Kyrgyz Committee
for Human Rights, an established monitoring organization, that
the organization's registration was being revoked. The notification
contained no information about how the Committee could rectify
the problem, and was sent just days before the presidential
referendum that the group was set to monitor.5 According to the U.S. Department of State and
the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, the 1994 and 1996 referenda
had contained significant irregularities.
Three human rights activists were arrested and detained in
the town of Jalal-Abad in September 1998 then they attempted
to organize a peaceful demonstration against the president's
upcoming referendum6 The activists, local leaders of the national
Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, had requested and obtained
permission from local authorities to hold the demonstration;
members of parliament were expected to participate. The activists,
who were denied access to legal counsel, were sentenced to fifteen
days' administrative detention for "violating public order."7
Two days before the 1995 presidential elections, the campaign
chairman of an opposition party was arrested and charged with
libel against the president while distributing campaign materials
stating that Akaev was ethnically Kazakh.8
Three presidential candidates were "de-registered" immediately
prior to the elections.9
In September 1998, National Patriotic Party leader Nazarbek
Nyshanov was arrested by the Ministry of National Security on
financial corruption charges. However, human rights organizations
maintain that little evidence existed in support of the allegations,
and that the arrest was due to his open and vitriolic criticism
of Akaev's government.10
Media
At a press conference in New York in July 1997, Akaev asserted
that the development of a free press is the cornerstone of the
democratic development of Kyrgyzstan.11
The government amended the constitution to guarantee greater
freedom of speech, and slander has been changed from a criminal
offense to a civil offense.12
Despite these gains, however, members of the media continue
to face government harassment and interference on a regular
basis. Irina Stepkicheva of Nasha Gazeta ("Our Newspaper)",
who faced a civil suit for articles critical of the procurator
genera, reported that procuracy officials repeatedly threatened
her and her thirteen year-old daughter.13 In May 1998, "unknown assailants set fire to the front door
of the home of Tatiana Kchmada, a reporter from Res Publica
newspaper."14 Kchmada
regarded this attach as retaliation for an article she had written
about government corruption.15
In October 1998, a government official threatened to revoke
seven journalists' licenses if they continued to write articles
criticizing the upcoming referendum.16
In April 1998, Prime Minister Jumaliev reportedly threatened
to close the independent newspaper "Asaba" if the editor-in-chief
continued to criticize Akaev and his family members.17 In September 1998, the state-run broadcasting agency prevented
a television broadcast of the country's sole independent referendum
debate, ostensibly for "technical reasons."18
Relations with Neighboring Countries
Kyrgyzstan has historically been a valuable transportation
link between Europe, Central Asia and the People's Republic
of China. Its most problematic relationship has been with neighboring
Uzbekistan. The main source of tension has involved payment
terms for the US $3.3 million natural gas debt that Kyrgyzstan
owes Uzbekistan.19 In November 1998, after the Uzbek government threatened to
shut off Kyrgyzstan's supply of natural gas before the onset
of winter, the presidents of both countries worked out a payment
program, in which thirty percent of Kyrgyzstan's debt would
be paid in currency and the remainder in products.20
STATUS OF WOMEN IN KYRGYZSTAN UNDER SPECIFIC CEDAW ARTICLES:
ARTICLE 6 - PROSTITUTION
The trafficking of women and young girls from Kyrgyzstan to
Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries for work
in the sex trade is an increasing problem. Exact numbers are
not known. According to Human Rights Watch, "Kyrgyz women and
girls" are "commonly promised legitimate work abroad," only
to find themselves "indebted to their traffickers for travel
expenses and pressured to work in the sex industry to repay
the debt."21 Government
officials from the visa and registration department in Kyrgyzstan
are said to collaborate with the trafficking of women out of
the country by "receiving bribes from the traffickers in return
for forged travel documents."22
ARTICLES 7 AND 8 - POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE
Women are underrepresented in government and politics. Three
of 105 parliamentary deputies are women.23 The Deputy Prime Minister for Social Issues, Minister of
Labor and Justice and Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court
are women. A women's group has been formed to recruit female
candidates.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATION 19 (ARTICLES 3, 5, 6, 12, 15, and 16)
- VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Research conducted in 1996 suggests that the incidence of
violence against women has risen dramatically since independence.24 Human rights activists maintain that rape
is becoming more common, with authorities often ignoring such
attacks.25 "Official statistics
show little change in the number of crimes against women, but
medical records present a different story, with increased hospital
admissions of women who have been injured by a family member."26 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
published an official report on gender issues in Kyrgyzstan
with the assistance of the Kyrgyz government. Despite claims
by human rights monitoring groups that violence against women,
domestic abuse, kidnapping and forcing young girls to marry
is on the rise, these subjects were ignored in the paper.
Human Rights Watch reports that "more women reported incidents
of domestic violence in 1998," although it is not known "whether
this reflected a real increase in the number of cases of domestic
violence or a greater willingness on the part of victims to
report it."27
