OSCE helps to co-ordinate the international community’s project activities in the religious sphere in Kyrgyzstan

On 6 April a meeting on how to improve co-ordination between state agencies and international organizations based in Kyrgyzstan in regard to project activities in the religious sphere took place in Bishkek. This event was conducted by the State Commission for Religious Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

State officials, representatives from civil society, embassies and international organizations took part in the meeting. This event was the first of its kind and provided a platform for coordinating the project activities of international organizations in the religious sphere in Kyrgyzstan. The participants also discussed plans and tasks of state programmes in the field of religion. They focused, in particular, on "The State Policy Concept in the Religious Sphere for 2014-2020" and "The Kyrgyz Republic’s Government Program for Countering Extremism and Terrorism for 2017-2022”.

In recent years, project activities of international organizations in Kyrgyzstan’s religious sphere have intensified, which could be attributed to a heightened relevance of various issues pertaining to it, both at local and national levels.

Zayirbek Ergeshov, the Director of the State Committee for Religious Affairs highlighted the importance of working towards the rehabilitation of nationals who were recruited by religious extremists and are now returning back to Kyrgyzstan. "At the moment more than 800 citizens of Kyrgyzstan are in conflict zones. Some of them got there without understanding the wider context, some were recruited, and this problem is especially relevant among labor migrants who travel abroad,” Ergeshov said.

The Deputy Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, Valeriu Chiveri, noted: "No country can be safe from this global challenge. There is a need to co-ordinate efforts of international organizations in the religious sphere to improve effectiveness and sustainable impact in Kyrgyzstan.”