DUSHANBE, September 25, 2015, Asia-Plus – In a written statement to the 2015 OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, a number of human rights organization express concern about shrinking civil society space in Central Asia.
The statement was prepared by the following human rights organizations: International Partnership for Human Rights (Belgium); Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (Kazakhstan); Nota Bene (Tajikistan); Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (Turkmenistan, based in exile in Austria); the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, established by political émigrés in France); and the Voice of Freedom Foundation (Kyrgyzstan).
The statement says there is a growing trend in Central Asia, in which the authorities curtail fundamental rights and freedoms and clamp down on civil society in the name of ensuring stability. New restrictive legislation has been initiated and repressive measures taken against groups and individuals who criticize government policies and speak up for human rights, justice and rule of law.
When visiting Central Asia in June 2015, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon spoke about “a shrinking democratic space” across the region and warned against using security threats to “place further limits on fundamental rights such as the freedoms of expression, assembly and association.” He emphasized that “experience has shown this only backfires” and that such an approach will only foster frustration and contribute to instability in the long run.
On Tajikistan, the statement, in particular, says that new legislation signed by the president in August 2015 requires information about all funds received by public associations from foreign and international sources to be included in a special government register. While the final version speaks about “notification” of funds, the provisions remain vaguely worded and do not provide any details on the notification procedure. This aspect was left to a government regulation currently being drafted. Both civil society and international human rights bodies have expressed concern that the new provisions may be used to restrict the work of NGOs in violation of international human rights standards. In recent months, a series of inspections of the activities and finances of NGOs have been carried out by authorities without any clear reason being stated, and well-known human rights NGOs have been singled out for punitive measures initiated by tax authorities. Following a check of its financial documents, the Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law was ordered to pay a large fine corresponding to some 6000 EUR for alleged violations of the Tax Code in August 2015. Nota Bene is currently facing a lawsuit brought by the Tax Committee, which is requesting it to be closed down for allegedly taking advantage of gaps in the law when registering in 2009. As many other NGOs in Tajikistan, Nota Bene is registered as a “public foundation” with the Tax Committee rather than as a “public association” with the Ministry of Justice. Nota Bene was not given any prior warning. It is now challenging the lawsuit in court.
A new Law on Assemblies adopted in Tajikistan at the end of 2014 is more restrictive than the previous one and limits the right to hold peaceful assemblies in ways that are not compatible with international human rights standards, the statement says. In particular, it requires the organizers of assemblies to obtain permission in advance and contains broadly worded provisions on the grounds for prohibiting assemblies and the venues in which their conduct is limited. The law also does not provide for spontaneous assemblies, the statement says.
The new Law on the Bar and the Practice of Law adopted earlier this year sets out a new qualification procedure for lawyers that risks undermining their independence, and additional amendments currently under consideration by the government would further tighten access to the legal profession. There are also concerns that lawyers have been subjected to intimidation and harassment because of their professional activities. Lawyer Shuhrat Qudratov is serving a five-year prison sentence on charges believed to have been motivated by his work, including on high-profile cases involving public figures.
The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP), the country’s largest opposition party, has been subjected to growing pressure in recent months and is now facing closure, according to the statement. In late August 2015, the Ministry of Justice sent a warning to the party, stating that its activities are “illegal” because it does not have the number of branches required for political parties and carries out “religious propaganda.”
