Human rights centre in south Kyrgyzstan to be a bridge between NGOs and new authorities, OSCE Centre says

OSH, 8 April 2005 - A new human rights resource centre in southern Kyrgyzstan was opened today by the OSCE Field Office in Osh. It is expected to serve as a bridge between local NGOs and authorities on human rights issues.

The Resource Centre on Advocacy and Human Rights in Osh, to be run by a local NGO, the Foundation for Legal and Economic Reforms, will become a platform and an advocacy tool for promoting and protecting human rights in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

"This centre should be a bridge between civil society and the new authorities to allow both sides to become genuine partners in dialogue so as to prevent future tensions," said Jerome Bouyjou, Political and Human Dimension Officer of the OSCE Field Office in Osh.

"In these times of change in Kyrgyzstan, the OSCE strongly believes that promoting dialogue between all actors in society is vital," he emphasised.

"This institution should be seen not only as a resource centre, but also as a capacity-building instrument to complement the NGOs' activities with necessary lobbying and advocacy initiatives."

Through specific training programmes, the centre will assist interested NGOs to develop advocacy and lobbying campaigns at both local and national levels on most pressing human rights issues. This will strengthen the human rights NGO network in southern Kyrgyzstan and promote grassroots initiatives.

As its first activity, the centre in Osh today hosted a roundtable for representatives of NGOs, the media and local authorities. It focused on the current socio-political situation in southern Kyrgyzstan, and on the potential role of NGOs and the media in stabilizing the situation.

A series of recommendations from the meeting will be submitted to the authorities.