[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1135, 420], "category": "Text", "text": "organise their networking, exchange of experiences, and co-learning, providing skills development opportunities and access to needed expertise, promoting their involvement in decision-making processes, and addressing the gender disparities they face, youth groups and CSOs can continue delivering the voice of adolescents and youth on critical aspects of national development. The Specific Objective of this strand of the action is to empower young people's organisations in Kyrgyzstan by providing them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and opportunities to effectively address youth-related issues, promote human rights, and foster inclusivity and gender equality in the country. Synergies with the Civil Society Reference Group created by the Spotlight Initiative in 2020-2023 can be explored. The Action is aligned with the EU Gender Action Plan III 2021-2025 in particular to its thematic area of engagement \"Promoting economic and social rights and empowering girls and women\" as well as \"Ensuring freedom from all forms of gender-based violence\"."}, {"bbox": [85, 508, 323, 541], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 573, 235, 601], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 620, 1135, 1046], "category": "Text", "text": "Kyrgyzstan maintains a comparatively more open civic and democratic space than other countries of the region. However, the human rights trends of the past years have been assessed as negative in several areas by both international observers and national civil society groups. Extensive legislative and other reforms in particular in the criminal justice area, which are being introduced since 2021, have raised concern about their potentially negative impact on human rights. The country's incomplete criminal justice reforms, weak justice institutions, inconsistent policies, disorganised lawmaking, lack of accountability, and corruption contribute to gaps in human rights enjoyment. Human rights concerns in Kyrgyzstan include reports of torture and other ill-treatment, in particular by the police and in custodial settings. Against this backdrop, the NPM established under the OPCAT, the NCPT and the Ombudsperson Institute have fundamental roles in strengthening and protecting the national human rights architecture in the Kyrgyz Republic. The NCPT is expected to adopt and begin implementation of its next three-year strategic plan in 2024. The Ombudsperson Institute is accredited with \"B\" status (partially compliant with the UN Paris Principles) by the GANHRI. The Ombudsperson Institute is expected to undergo a capacity assessment in 2024, jointly facilitated by the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Right (OHCHR) Regional Office for Central Asia and the UN Development Programme. Targeted support for these institutions will significantly contribute to Kyrgyzstan's human rights protection and promotion as well as to increasing civic space."}, {"bbox": [96, 1070, 1135, 1468], "category": "Text", "text": "Domestic violence is a significant problem in the Kyrgyz Republic. In 2023, there were 13,104 registered cases of domestic violence (from 9,880 in 2022) resulting in 11,357 temporary protection orders (from 8,725 in 2022). However, only 25% of reported domestic violence cases in 2023 reached the court, while the rest were dropped, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Additionally, 13 cases of abduction for forced marriage were registered in 2023 (28 cases in 2022) on the \"Unified Register of Crimes and Misdemeanors\". The concept of gender equality and the women empowerment is being often perceived as foreign and pro-western, leading to further divisions. The above points are reflected in major international indexes: The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index for 2022 indicates that Kyrgyzstan has its lowest score since 2015. Kyrgyzstan's performance in the Global Gender Gap index has been volatile in recent years while in 2023 it recorded a score of 0.7 with ranking of 84th place out of 146 countries. This highlights the significant gaps in representation of women in decision-making roles and the overall position of women in the society. The Kyrgyz Republic hosts a robust and thriving civil society, with an estimated of 22,000 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating throughout the country. However, the practical implementation of their role faces major gaps and challenges as CSOs, especially in the area of GEWE/EVAWG, are broadly underfunded with low capacity and often are not recognised as independent development actors. This directly contributes to the slow attainment of results in the GEWE/EVAWG area."}, {"bbox": [96, 1493, 1135, 1628], "category": "Text", "text": "Kyrgyzstan has a growing young population. However, the youth participation index has dropped from 0.53 in 2017 to 0.41 in 2022. Data also indicates that 20.5% of young individuals are not engaged in education, employment, or training (NEET), with 29.4% being young women and 12% young men. In the current social and political climate, civic space is shrinking due to increasing conservatism and polarisation within the country. The prevalence of social media and digital platforms exacerbates this divide through the spread of \"fake news.\" The"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1681, 1144, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 28"}]