Tian Shan Policy Center at AUCA and the Boltzman Institute for Human Rights from Vienna, Austria presented the outcome of a research on torture

October 24, 2014

On 22 October, the Tian Shan Policy Center of the American University of Central Asia and the Boltzman Institute for Human Rights from Vienna, Austria, presented to representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, General Prosecutor’s Office, National Preventive Mechanism, Ombudsman office, and Penitentiary Services of the Kyrgyz Republic, the outcome of a research on torture and the actions undertaken to prevent torture between 1985 and 2014.

The research was carried out between March and October 2014 and will contribute to a larger project of the Association for the Prevention of Torture from Geneva, Switzerland, which will compile an atlas of torture analysis the comparative data collected in 16 countries on the same topic and during the same period of time. The field and desk research included both qualitative and quantitative data and it was aimed at obtaining an overview of the compliance of Kyrgyz authorities with their obligations to prevent torture and the actions taken to fulfill it.

The conclusion of the research is that, based on the available data, the use of torture has increased over the last years along with the number of initiatives and organizations implementing monitoring activities to address the concerns related to torture and full respect of the right to a fair trial and the rule of law. The research also highlight that the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has, however, undertaken a number of actions, including ratifying the optional protocol to the Convention on Torture and subsequently establishing the National Preventing Mechanism. Significant challenges continue to remain but the TSPC firmly believes that it can give a substantial contribution to improve the current human rights situation in Kyrgyzstan with the EU-funded project on prevention of torture which is currently under implementation.

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