A delegation of twelve representatives of the public institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic participated in a seminar on Council of Europe Conventions at the Council of Europe Headquarters in Strasbourg (France) on 30 May – 1 June 2023.

The delegation included representatives of the Presidential Administration, Parliament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Supreme Court, a District Court of Bishkek city, General Prosecutor’s Office, Office of the Ombudsperson, Training Centre under the Bar Association and Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in France.

Within the framework of the event, a number of exchanges were organised with the Secretariat of the Council of Europe that ensured better understanding of the Council of Europe Conventions, in particular the accession process, commitments, benefits and implications for the legislative system of the Kyrgyz Republic. This would enable the Kyrgyz authorities to initiate the work towards accession procedure.

The seminar particularly focused on the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),  the Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, as well as the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. It also covered the application and usage of the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) programme in the country.

The visit reaffirmed the interest of the Kyrgyz Republic to continue co-operation with the Council of Europe and advance its work on possible accession to the respective conventions.

This seminar was organised in the framework of the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023 co-funded by the Council of Europe and the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe.