December 3, 2021, Bishkek - Yesterday at a round table discussion supported by the United Nations Development Programme in Kyrgyzstan the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic presented new initiatives on strengthening the rule of law through effective law-making, free legal aid system and legal education. The round table titled "Strengthening the Rule of Law: Issues of Legal Education and Effective Law-making" was attended by state authorities, international organisations, members of the expert community and NGO representatives.

The round table widely discussed the new institutions (Centers) within the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic - "Free Legal Aid Service" (FLAS), "Centre for Justice and the Rule of Law" (CJROL) and "Centre for Legal Education" (CLE), their goals, objectives, main activities.

In particular, the "Centre for Legal Education" (CLE) attracted keen interest. The regulation on the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic officially added a new function of "legal enlightenment", which is substantively different from the "legal propaganda" function that was put into effect earlier. The Centre will pursue a policy of educating the population, utilising the enormous potential of the FLAS system in each district and the entire capacity mechanism of the Ministry. With a more legally literate population, it will be more important for justice workers to affirm and assert these rights, focus on providing justice services to people as their priority and recognise that this is their real mandate from the state. Certainly with a more legally literate population, it will be even more important for officials of the justice system to affirm and uphold these rights, to focus on delivering services of justice to the people as their priority, and recognizing that this is their real mandate from the state.

UNDP Kyrgyzstan is implementing a number of projects in close cooperation with ministries and agencies of the country to achieve access to justice and the rule of law.

Eliminating inequalities in justice can only be achieved by raising legal awareness and educating the general public. Indeed, given the current socio-economic situation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many more people will need legal assistance as a consequence of deteriorating living conditions. This is particularly relevant for women and girls, in the context of increased domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. 

Louise Chamberlain, UNDP Resident Representative in her opening speech said: "When people understand their rights and what they can legally be entitled to in the system, they will have greater courage to exercise and demand this right, in a system that can otherwise surely appear confusing and inaccessible It is essential therefore, that we also invest in the understanding of the rights holders of their rights, and education on basic legal foundations can help with this.”

The introduction of new initiatives is being worked out to achieve a better result, in cooperation between state bodies and civil society institutions, as well as to improve the quality and efficiency of the department's rulemaking activities. The ministry sees a need to develop and adopt a new strategic document outlining the government's policy for improving the legal culture of the population.

UNDP Rule of Law programme include providing legal empowerment to the poor and marginalized groups, including women, young people, the disabled and migrants; improving justice and security institutions and access to justice.

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For more information please contact Nurzhan Alymkanova, UNDP Communications Specialist at nurzhan.alymkanova@undp.org

Link to photo from the round table: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmXcBFgv