In October of 2006, the ABA conducted a televised forum on anti-money laundering legislation in the Kyrgyz Republic through its Anti-Corruption Program.

In April 2006, the ABA sent a U.S.-based attorney as an Anti-Corruption Advisor to Bishkek for seven months to assess opportunities for Kyrgyz institutional and legislative reforms and to increase regional capacity to fight corruption. The Advisor prepared an assessment of existing anti-corruption legislation in Kyrgyzstan that discussed how well those laws complied with the United National Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).  Kyrgyzstan ratified the UNCAC in September 2005. In October 2006, this analysis was both presented to the Parliament and discussed during a roundtable attended by members of government, civil society, international organizations and the media.  In February 2007, the analysis had formed the basis of a draft anti-corruption law in Parliament that seeks to bring the legislative framework into compliance with the UNCAC.

The Advisor also built upon needs expressed by participants at a May 2006 regional judicial anti-money laundering training held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, by organizing a nationally televised public forum on Kyrgyzstan's new anti-money laundering law. The program aired in both Russian and Kyrgyz during prime time, and was complemented by the broadcast of an anti-corruption public service announcement developed by the Advisor and the Criminal Law Reform program.

 

In September of 2006, the ABA convened a conference on the status of Kyrgyzstan's defense bar and the need to establish a unified bar association in the country.

In October 2005, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) began a criminal law reform program in Kyrgyzstan. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, focuses on establishing and supporting a unified national bar association, institutionalizing continuing legal education for defense attorneys within a unified national bar association and developing a national anti-corruption curriculum that helps raise university and secondary school students’ level of awareness of the consequences of corruption on society and good governance.

Since the program’s launch, ABA ROLI has supported major criminal law reform activities in Kyrgyzstan. We have worked closely with national stakeholders, particularly the ministries of justice and education, existing legal professional associations and secondary schools throughout the country.

Combating human trafficking through legal training

In October 2009, ABA ROLI launched a 15-month anti-human trafficking program in Kyrgyzstan, which is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Kyrgyzstan is one of the Central Asian nations that face both labor and sex-related trafficking in persons. The Kyrgyz government is striving to comply with the minimum standards used to prevent human trafficking, to protect victims and to prosecute perpetrators. However, there is a need for stronger and more coordinated efforts by local and international non-governmental organizations, and ABA ROLI continues to work closely with these stakeholders.

ABA ROLI has launched a program that will contribute to resolving the problem through extensive legal training. The program aims to strengthen the legal response to the phenomenon, through human trafficking prevention, victim protection and perpetrator prosecution. The proposed trainings will improve the skills of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and legal professionals assisting human trafficking victims, thereby strengthening national efforts to combat the problem. Through this program, ABA ROLI will establish three working groups, which will develop training modules for law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys. Additionally, ABA ROLI will create and distribute a set of standardized guidelines for the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking-related crimes for these justice sector actors. To ensure sustainability, ABA ROLI intends to eventually institutionalize the anti-human trafficking trainings in state and other educational institutions.

"Be a juror." A graphic from the ABA ROLI's PSA introducing the basic concept of juries and the responsibilities of the lay public. (2007)

Since 2001, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) has been implementing a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded civic education program in Kyrgyzstan. The program focuses on improving legal awareness among Kyrgyz youth and on increasing legal knowledge and skills among marginalized religious communities to help them engage effectively with the justice system and government institutions.

ABA ROLI has conducted street law trainings in both public secular schools and religious educational institutions, introducing students to basic secular legal concepts with an emphasis on their rights. The program aims to increase the students’ understanding of secular law and individual rights and to instill greater knowledge among marginalized communities of their rights and of the legitimate mechanisms for interacting with government representatives and institutions. ABA ROLI is also working to build the capacity of five local street law centers to ensure that they can independently operate and expand sustainable programs.