GENEVA - Torture prevention has taken a serious step backwards in Kyrgyzstan following the adoption of new legislation, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned today.
"The decision to abolish the independent torture prevention monitoring body and give its mandate to the Ombudsperson's Institute, which is not yet fully independent, flies in the face of Kyrgyzstan's human rights obligations," Türk said.
On 23 September, it was announced that the Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov had signed a law mandating the closure of the National Centre for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) and transferring its torture prevention mandate to the Ombudsperson.
"The NCPT has been a model for the Central Asia region, as the only independent national human rights institution there that meets international standards," the High Commissioner said.
"During my visit to Kyrgyzstan in March this year, I highlighted how vital it was to preserve the NCPT's independence, to ensure that it is well-resourced and has the access it needs to perform its functions effectively," he added.
"I urge the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure there is no interruption in torture prevention monitoring; that a new structure within the Ombudsperson's Institute is set up in line with Kyrgyzstan's treaty obligations; and that it is functionally, operationally, and financially independent, including through a sufficient, ring-fenced budget. It is also crucial that civil society and independent experts are given a clear and consultative role in this process and in future preventive monitoring."
The National Centre for the Prevention of Torture was set up in 2012 through national legislation to implement the obligations Kyrgyzstan undertook when it became a State Party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in 2008. A key obligation is the establishment of an independent torture prevention monitoring body, known as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), charged with carrying out regular monitoring visits to all places where people are deprived of their liberty.
