Our joint submission details our concerns with regard to laws related to rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as harmful practices and procedures and practices which effectively deny access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence and which constitute a violation of the obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Specifically, Kyrgyzstan’s legal system provides a number of opportunities for perpetrators to escape criminal liability or punishment, namely through the way sexual violence crimes are defined; allowing for the direct release of a perpetrator from liability or punishment in certain circumstances; and through the way sexual violence crimes are investigated and prosecuted, including with respect to adolescent girls. This submission also refers to Equality Now’s 2019 report which identified gaps in the law, thereby allowing for actual and potential impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence crimes.