OSCE expresses concerns about draft amendments to Kyrgyzstan's law on non-commercial organizations

BISHKEK, 16 April 2009 - The Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, said today he welcomed an opinion issued recently by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) that included concerns about draft amendments to a law on non-commercial organization. 

The draft amendments were proposed by a group of Kyrgyz Members of Parliament.

In the opinion, the ODIHR concluded that "the existing legislation is in most respects compatible with the international standards. This level of compatibility would be significantly diminished were the proposed amendments to be adopted".

Tesoriere said the amendments raised serious concerns.

"They would constitute a setback from the current version of the law," he said. "We hope that those who drafted the amendments will carefully consider the OSCE/ODIHR opinion and withdraw those amendments that are incompatible with OSCE norms."

The ODIHR opinion said that "a number of provisions could not be retained in any form consistent with those (international) standards". These include the removal of recognition for informal organisations to operate, the removal of the capacity of potentially many people to become founders or members of non-commercial organisations and the prohibition on the activities that come within a broad definition of what is "political" or connected to elections.

The opinion also noted that "the potentially beneficial extension of the provision for state support to non-commercial organisations is undoubtedly welcome but will be of little consequence if the establishment and operation of non-commercial organisations is handicapped in the manner proposed by the Draft Law's other provisions".

The electronic version of the Opinion in English and Russian is available on the OSCE website: /bishkek