Dzhamiliya Dzhamanbaeva and USAID Senior Global Coordinator held negotiations

Akyikatchy (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic Dzhamiliya Dzhamanbaeva and USAID Senior Global Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Jamil Bigio held negotiations.

The meeting took place in Bishkek. It was also attended by Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Bishkek Liz Zentos and USAID Director in the Kyrgyz Republic Kaya Adams.

The parties discussed current issues in the field of protecting human rights and freedoms.

In particular, mutual understanding was reached on all priority issues in the areas of gender equality, social inclusion and human rights.

During the meeting, the Ombudsman noted the measures being taken to identify flagrant facts of violation of the rights to private property of children left without parents.

The importance of strengthening interaction to protect children’s rights to sexual integrity and develop mechanisms to protect against early marriage was also noted.

Akyikatchy drew attention to the vulnerability of women who were forced to marry at a minor age.

“There is an urgent need to provide support to victims of early marriages, as they are exposed to domestic violence. It should be noted that when considering complaints of domestic violence, facts about forced early marriages were revealed. For example, a 23-year-old mother of three children contacted the Ombudsman Institute. She complained about the violence. As it turned out, she was forcibly married at the age of 15 to a man who was three times her age.

There are such blatant facts, and they are not isolated. Today there is a need to take measures to prevent early marriages. It is important for us to study international practices on this issue,” said the Ombudsman.

Next, the parties discussed the importance of strengthening the mandate of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic to ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms.

In particular, they exchanged views on the new constitutional bill on the Akyikatchy (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The new norms will strengthen the mandate of the Ombudsman - employees of the institute will be able to take part in closed court sessions where criminal cases regarding the sexual integrity of children are considered.

“Currently, employees of the institute are not allowed to attend such meetings, citing the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Kyrgyz Republic. In this regard, we do not have the opportunity to ensure the protection in court of the rights of children who have been subjected to violence. When adopting a new law, we can monitor closed trials,” the Ombudsman noted.

Jamil Bigio emphasized that she supports the efforts of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic aimed at protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“We are ready to further cooperate with the government of the Kyrgyz Republic, relevant authorities and provide the necessary support for gender equality and social inclusion. We also support the efforts of the Ombudsman to become a bridge between the civil sector and the authorities” she said.