Human rights in Kyrgyzstan

Politics of Kyrgyzstan

Commonwealth of Independent States CIS Member State

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Human rights in Kyrgyzstan improved after the ouster of President Askar Akayev in the 2005 Tulip Revolution and the installment of a more democratic government under Roza Otunbayeva.[1] While the country is performing well compared to other states in Central Asia, many human rights violations still take place. While LGBT rights have been declining in recent years,[2] freedom of press has been improving.[3]

The democratic performance of the country has been declining since 2014.[4] Corruption is still an issue in the country although it has been steadily declining since 2008.[5]

Formerly a republic of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991. Remaining reasonably stable throughout most of the 1990s, the country's young democracy showed relative promise under the leadership of Akayev,[6] but moved towards autocracy and authoritarianism by the early 2000s, achieving a 5.5 rating from Freedom House in 2000.[7] In 2020 the country is considered "partly free" by Freedom House with a score of 39 out of 100.[8]

In 2004, prior to the democratic revolution, Kyrgyzstan was rated by Freedom House as "Not Free," with a 6 in Political Rights and 5 in Civil Liberties (scale of 1-7; 1 is the highest). This indicated marked regression, from a 4.3 rating a decade earlier in 1994. Although the 1993 Constitution defines the Kyrgyz Republic as a democratic republic, President Askar Akayev continued to dominate the government. Serious irregularities reportedly marred 2003 a national constitutional referendum as well as presidential and parliamentary elections in 2000.[7]

  1. ^ Tran, Mark; agencies (2010-04-08). "Kyrgyzstan opposition leader demands president's resignation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  2. ^ Kyrgyzstan, events of 2019. 10 December 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "World Press Freedom Index 2020: Kyrgyzstan". Reporters sans frontières. 2 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Nations in transit 2020" (PDF). Freedom House.
  5. ^ "Kyrgyzstan Corruption Index". Transparency International Kyrgyzstan. 30 January 2024.
  6. ^ Anderson, John (1999). Kyrgyzstan: Central Asia's Island of Democracy. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers. pp. ix. ISBN 9057023903.
  7. ^ a b Piano, Aili; Puddington, Arch (2004). Freedom in the world 2004 (PDF). Lanham, Maryland, United States of America: Freedom House. p. 314. ISBN 0-7425-3644-0.
  8. ^ "Freedom in the world 2020: Kyrgyzstan". Freedom House.