- Year: 2023
- Budget: 1,497,849.85 €
- Location: Kyrgyzstan
- Sector: Resilience, Peace, Security
- Partner: International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) (BE) and Public Foundation “Lawyers for Human Rights (KG)
Building a modern democratic state from the modest base of a former Soviet Republic is a complex undertaking. It requires actions in all branches of government and the establishment of mechanisms for managing the country’s affairs, along with systems of checks and balances. Despite setbacks and periods of severe unrest, Kyrgyzstan has made progress in this process, including needed reforms in the justice sector. However, recent developments indicate troubling attempts by the authorities to limit democratic freedoms.
A review and needs assessment in the justice sector have identified insufficient capacity and resources to monitor, assess, and respond to challenges in the justice system as a major shortcoming. Numerous civil society organizations (CSOs) have been unable to actively contribute to justice reforms due to a lack of knowledge, methodology, and strategies for effective engagement. Severe deficiencies in coordination and cooperation among CSOs and activists have also been detected.
Against this context, the Intervention titled “Establishing and operationalising a national civil society monitoring, coordination and response mechanism for advancing justice sector reform in Kyrgyzstan” has been prepared by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) as the lead grant applicant in cooperation with Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), a Kyrgyzstani non-governmental organization (NGO) and local co-applicant. The grant was awarded by the EC and funded under the Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (MIP) for the Kyrgyz Republic 2014-2020. Launched in May 2022, the Intervention is designed to address and mitigate identified needs and constraints. This will be achieved by establishing a platform for regular coordination and cooperation in the form of a civil society monitoring network and implementing related capacity development, including sub-grants to CSOs to enhance their capacity to monitor, analyze, formulate, and communicate legal and policy recommendations for improving the justice system, providing strategic advice on advancing the reforms.
By facilitating systematic, effective, and independent civil society monitoring of the justice system, as well as coordinated civil society actions to influence legislation, policies, and law enforcement practices, the Intervention promotes the rule of law and better compliance with national and international standards.
The plan involves bringing together CSOs and individual civil society members in a systemic manner, equipping them with the core knowledge, skills, and tools needed to monitor the justice system in a coordinated way. This is expected to strengthen civil society’s ability to carry out results-based monitoring and facilitate the creation of sustainable CSO networks. The Intervention will also cover the digitalization of justice sector institutions, focusing on observing privacy rights, as these areas were identified as needing attention.
The Intervention centers on legal and judicial reform primarily in criminal justice, addressing the most serious problems, but other issues will also be addressed, including following up on the implementation of recently introduced legal mechanisms such as probation. Contributions to countering corrupt practices by promoting transparency and accountability in the actions of state bodies are also expected.