OSCE supports civil society and international participation to promote human rights and anti-corruption in Kyrgyzstan’s prisons

Two half-day workshops for the directors of penal colonies under Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary system took place on 18 October 2012 at the Training Centre for Prison Staff in Bishkek. The events were co-organized by the state penitentiary service, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Freedom House and USAID.

The seminars which brought together around 40 directors of penitentiary establishments from across Kyrgyzstan provided a platform for stakeholders, including civil society and international organizations, to discuss approaches to torture prevention under the new law that envisages the creation of a national anti-torture mechanism. They also discussed the results of an evaluation,of the human rights situation in colonies, as well as the new law on anti-corruption and its implementation in line with international practice and expertise.

The workshops were organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek as part of a wider project aimed at enhancing the security and human rights in penitentiary establishments through capacity building under the Centre’s programme to support penitentiary reform in Kyrgyzstan.