Report by Head of OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek: UK response, May 2023
Ambassador Holland voices UK support for the work of OSCE's Programme Office in Bishkek, including on border security, human rights, and climate change.
May I first welcome you, both Ambassador Rogov and Acting Director Indira Satarkulova to the Permanent Council. Thank you and your colleagues for your report and hard work over the past year.
The UK remains committed to a strong partnership with Kyrgyzstan. We look forward to the visit there next month by our Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty.
The UK values the important work of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. The Academy continues to inform and support policymaking in the region across all three dimensions of the OSCE.
This year’s Programme Office report outlines the effective coordination with the Kyrgyz authorities, including through the Consultative Mechanism. So I also thank the Kyrgyz Ministry for Foreign Affairs for their support in implementing the Programme’s Office’s mandate.
There are three themes in the report that I would like to focus on today.
Firstly, the Programme Office’s role in facilitating cross-border cooperation and security. We reiterate our call for a peaceful resolution of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border disputes that resulted in violence last year. We commend the dialogue opened between the two countries to discuss unresolved demarcation and delimitation issues. The OSCE Border Security and Management Concept, supported in Kyrgyzstan by your office, is a crucial and effective tool to grow further inter-state cooperation.
Secondly, on human rights. Kyrgyzstan’s election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 is an excellent opportunity for the Kyrgyz Government to make further progress. We hope that it, with the support of the OSCE, will strengthen human rights mechanisms in Kyrgyzstan to protect vulnerable groups and enhance the rights and opportunities of women and girls.
It is particularly important to build upon efforts to support survivors of gender-based violence in and around Batken province. The enhancement of the Programme Office’s Women Initiative Groups is a great example of how the OSCE can directly provide support to vulnerable groups in the region. And it aligns with the UK’s own UNFPA activity.
The Kyrgyz Government must also protect and support the rights of all media workers. Freedom of speech is one of the core pillars of a strong and prosperous state and is protected under the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic. We welcome the work done by the OSCE Academy to promote the necessity of independent journalism to young people.
Lastly, we welcome the Programme Office’s work to amplify Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to tackle climate change. As the report notes, Kyrgyzstan’s geography and topography means it is particularly susceptible to the increasing threats of rising temperatures and glacial melt. Support for initiatives, such as the Aarhus Centre Network’s promotion of environmental democracy, demonstrate the OSCE’s crucial role in reversing climate trends in the region. The Programme Office’s support at November’s Central Asian Regional Green Economy Forum has helped with confidence-building and knowledge-sharing. This is particularly valuable as Kyrgyzstan looks to transition towards a green economy.
Mr Chair our discussions today, as they did a year ago, unfortunately take place against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This continues to impact the security of all OSCE participating States. I would like to thank our colleagues in Bishkek for delivering right across the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security. We wish them continued success in the year ahead.