During a plenary session, members of the Jogorku Kenesh passed a law on "foreign representatives" in the third reading, officially known as the draft law "On Amending the Law on Non-Profit Organizations." The bill was approved by 66 deputies, with 5 voting against it. The legislation is now headed for presidential approval.
In a related development, the parliamentary committee on constitutional law, state structure, judicial and legal issues, and regulations held an extraordinary closed-door session to approve a bill on non-profit organizations in the third reading. This urgency is attributed to the upcoming parliamentary recess from March 18 to April 1.
Earlier, a group of 15 organizations, including the human rights movement "Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan," expressed serious concerns about the law on "foreign agents" in a letter to four international financial institutions. They urged these institutions to take action and called on the Kyrgyz authorities to retract the controversial bills.
The organizations requested the financial institutions to ensure that the space for civil society and independent media in Kyrgyzstan remains open in line with international human rights recommendations. They also proposed the establishment of a platform involving representatives of civil society to address significant social issues in the country.
The letter emphasized that the adoption of such laws would pose a serious threat to the successful development activities in Kyrgyzstan. It is noteworthy that on February 22, deputies approved amendments to the Law on Non-Profit Organizations in the second reading, introducing the concept of "foreign representatives" (similar to foreign agents in Russian legislation), with 64 parliamentarians in favor and 5 against.
