The NGO Human Right Watch (HRW) has called on the European Union to exert pressure and demand greater transparency and accountability in the upcoming meeting with diplomacies of Central Asian countries following multiple violent crackdowns throughout 2022 in the region.
In this regard, the organization has urged the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell – who will meet with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – to call for independent investigations into human rights violations at various demonstrations.
According to the NGO, in separate episodes of violence during 2022, dozens of mostly peaceful protesters have died as a result of excessive use of force by security forces in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
In addition, dozens of civilians have also been killed during armed clashes in September on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, although there have been no investigations so far.
«The EU rightly called for independent investigations when authorities in Central Asian countries killed, tortured or detained civilians, cracking down on dissent, but it should not remain silent when such calls are ignored,» argued HRW’s EU direct Phlippe Dam, «If the Union wants stable partners in Central Asia, it should demand that governments refrain from using excessive violence and ensure accountability for serious violations,» he added.
In Kazakhstan, between January 4 and 6, hundreds of people were killed when security forces responded to a wave of demonstrations. According to official figures, 238 people, including 19 security personnel, were killed during the violent clashes, according to HRW.
In Tajikistan, authorities responded to protests in the Upper Badakhshan autonomous region in May with a violent crackdown and a special «anti-terrorist operation» that killed at least 40 people, including prominent local figures, and resulted in the arrest of at least 200 others.
Separately, in Uzbekistan, security forces used «lethal and excessive force,» including the use of small arms and various types of grenades, to disperse mainly peaceful protesters in early July in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan. At least 21 people, including 4 security officers, were killed in the violence.
The organization has recalled that renewed clashes on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border have left 37 civilians, including 4 children, dead. Also, hundreds of houses, numerous markets and at least three schools were burned, damaged and looted.
In Kyrgyzstan, the authorities have increased control and censorship of the media amid a recent crackdown on freedom of expression and civil society. In this regard, the government has blocked Azattyk Media, the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, for two months using its ‘false information’ law.
However, the NGO recalled that on October 27, EU Council President Charles Michel participated in the first high-level regional meeting of Central Asian Heads of State in Astana. In a final declaration, the six leaders stressed the importance of dialogue on the rule of law and human rights, but did not commit themselves to putting an end to the serious violations in the region.
«The multiplication of violent repressions in Central Asian countries and the refusal of the Executives to genuinely investigate serious violations and hold those responsible accountable should be a warning signal to the EU,» Dam said.
«The Union can only contribute to greater stability in the region if it genuinely promotes respect for rights and combats impunity for abuses,» he added.
