Kyrgyzstan: First visit by UN experts on discrimination against women and girls

GENEVA (28 March 2022)  ̶  A United Nations expert group on discrimination against women and girls will undertake its first official visit to Kyrgyzstan from 4 to 15 April 2022 to assess progress and challenges in achieving gender equality and eliminating discrimination against women and girls in the country.

“The Working Group is particularly interested in legislative reforms and policies that have been implemented in Kyrgyzstan to promote women’s rights and substantive gender equality and to address structural discrimination”, the experts said.

The experts will be looking at all aspects of women’s life: political and public, economic and social, family and cultural life, health and safety, including gender-based violence against women and girls as a manifestation of discrimination and barriers to access to justice as crosscutting issues.

“We are interested in learning about achievements and promising practices, as well as the local historical and cultural context and existing gaps and challenges in the spirit of engaging in a constructive dialogue”, the experts said.

The experts, who are invited by the Government, will hold meetings in Bishkek, Issyk Kul, and Osh.

They will pay particular attention to women and girls who encounter multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including those living in rural areas, migrants, refugees, religious and ethnic minorities, those adversely impacted by conflict, LBTI persons, and women and girls with disabilities.

They will meet with national and local authorities, women and girls, civil society organisations, academics, journalists, elected women leaders, UN entities and other international stakeholders.

The visiting delegation will include Melissa Upreti and Elizabeth Broderick, respectively Chairperson and Member of the Working Group.

The experts will present their preliminary observations at a press conference at 3:00 pm (local time) on Friday 15 April 2022 at the Conference Room of the Sheraton Hotel, 148B Kievskaya Street, Bishkek. Access to the press conference will be strictly limited to accredited journalists.

The Working Group will submit its full report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2023.

ENDS

The UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls was created by the Human Rights Council in 2011 to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with developing a dialogue with States and other actors on laws that have a discriminatory impact where women are concerned. The Working Group is composed of five independent experts: Ms Melissa Upreti (Nepal), Chairperson; Ms Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Vice Chair); Ms Elizabeth Broderick (Australia); Ms Ivana Radačić (Croatia); and Ms Meskerem Geset Techane (Ethiopia).

The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.