Ahead of the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) urges OSCE participating States, institutions, and other actors engaging with the region to respond resolutely to the alarming deterioration of civic space in Central Asia.
Authorities across the region are tightening controls on civil society organisations, cracking down on independent media, suppressing peaceful protests, and persecuting critical voices. These practices violate OSCE human dimension commitments and key international human rights standards, while undermining democratic development, inclusive participation, and sustainable security.
International partners of Central Asian governments should use every opportunity to press for the reversal of repressive measures, accountability for violations, and the safeguarding of the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. They should also urgently step up support for the region’s civil society at a time of unprecedented challenges, when legal and political attacks are compounded by dwindling access to essential resources, undermining critical civil society efforts to promote human rights, justice and the rule of law.
A briefing paper compiled by IPHR for the Warsaw Conference, based on monitoring and documentation conducted with Central Asian partners, highlights pressing issues concerning civic space and fundamental freedoms in the five Central Asian countries. Entitled “Stifled Voices: The Suppression of Civic Space in Central Asia”, it is intended to inform discussions at this major human rights event, organised by the 2025 OSCE Finnish Chairpersonship with the support of ODIHR and bringing together representatives of OSCE participating States, OSCE institutions, civil society, and the wider international community.
Key issues covered in the briefing include:
Restrictions on civil society organisations (CSOs): Central Asian policymakers have used the debate surrounding the overhaul of US foreign assistance to intensify hostile rhetoric against foreign-funded CSOs and to propose new restrictive measures. CSOs that expose corruption, document abuse or promote equality and non-discrimination have been singled out for particular attacks. Although Kyrgyzstan’s 2024 “foreign representatives” law has not yet been enforced as harshly as feared, it has created a widespread climate of fear and remains a constant threat, with the Venice Commission warning its implementation could eliminate foreign-funded CSOs. While foreign-funded groups in Kazakhstan are already subject to a stigmatising reporting regime, draft NGO legislation now being elaborated could impose new excessive controls. CSOs in Uzbekistan face persistent registration barriers and restrictive procedures for accessing foreign funding, among other obstacles to human rights work. Hundreds of CSOs have been forced to close in Tajikistan in recent years, while remaining ones are subject to close scrutiny, including of their use of foreign grants. Turkmenistan’s political framework effectively prevents the operation of independent human rights groups, with registered organisations confined to strictly defined boundaries. Alongside government restrictions, CSOs experience declining funding opportunities throughout the region, leaving many struggling to sustain their work.
Crackdowns on independent media: Across Central Asia, independent media, journalists and bloggers face persistent pressure, with governments restricting free speech in violation of international obligations. In Kyrgyzstan, the media climate has sharply deteriorated in the past year: Kloop and April TV have faced court-enforced closures in retaliation for their independent reporting, contributors to Kloop and Temirov Live have been prosecuted and imprisoned on flimsy charges, and the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has faced sustained political attacks. A restrictive new media law adopted in summer 2025 has further raised fears of tighter control. In Kazakhstan, a 2024 media law has likewise sparked concern over growing obstacles to independent reporting, exemplified by the government’s recent refusal to renew accreditation for 16 journalists from the local RFE/RL service. In Uzbekistan, draft legislation could likewise result in new restrictions on media operations, while authorities increasingly prosecute critical journalists and bloggers. Tajikistan’s authorities continue to interfere heavily with the media, tightly controlling content, limiting access to information and imprisoning journalists. Turkmenistan’s fully state-controlled media provides only positive government coverage, while access to independent sources is restricted through pervasive internet censorship.
Violations of protesters’ rights: Widespread impunity persists related to the use of excessive force, torture, and other serious violations committed during the 2022 suppression of mass protests in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan), and Tajikistan (the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region – GBAO). The number of officials convicted for torture and other abuses during Kazakhstan’s ”Bloody January” events remains low given the scale of reported violations, penalties have often been lenient, and victims have received inadequate compensation. An official investigation in Uzbekistan concluded that the Karakalpakstan protests were lawfully dispersed and participants’ rights protected, with only a few officials held accountable, despite credible independent reports of widespread violations. Similarly, the lack of progress on ensuring accountability in GBAO in Tajikistan highlights the need for renewed international calls for impartial investigations, prosecutions of all perpetrators, and justice for victims of the 2022 dispersals of mass protests. Meanwhile, assembly rights continue to be curtailed in the region: a court-sanctioned ban on protests has repeatedly been extended in the capital of Kyrgyzstan; Kazakhstani authorities continue to arbitrarily deny permission for peaceful assemblies and detain activists before, during and after unsanctioned protests; and the practice of forcible mobilisation of citizens for state events persists in Turkmenistan.
Persecution of critical voices: Across the region, activists, human rights defenders, journalists and others who criticise government policies, expose violations and advocate for justice face persecution, including arrest, unfair trials, and politically motivated imprisonment. Charges are frequently based on overly broad criminal code provisions, and those convicted are often held in harsh detention conditions. Repression also extends beyond borders, with critics abroad increasingly targeted through transnational measures. The following cases, which are of particular concern to IPHR and partners, illustrate the broader pattern:
The decline in civic freedoms reflected in these recent trends has also affected the ratings of Central Asian countries on the CIVICUS Monitor, a global initiative that IPHR and its Central Asian partners cooperate with to track civic space in the region. All Central Asian countries now fall into the two lowest categories: Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are classified as ”repressed”, while Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are rated as having a ”closed” civic space.
IPHR urges the authorities of Central Asia to take prompt and effective measures to halt the escalating attack on civil society, independent media, and peaceful dissent. They should repeal or amend restrictive laws, roll back non-transparent and discriminatory procedures, investigate and ensure accountability for violations, and end persecution of critical voices – particularly by quashing politically motivated charges and releasing those unjustly imprisoned. We also urge international partners of the Central Asian governments to urgently increase support for the region’s civil society, speak out on individual cases of persecution, and use all avenues of dialogue and cooperation to encourage governments to respect and protect civic freedoms.
