First Statements at the OSCE Warsaw Conference: Central Asia Under Growing Pressure

First Statements at the OSCE Warsaw Conference: Central Asia Under Growing Pressure At the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, one of the first joint statements by human rights organizations addressing the situation in Central Asia was presented. The statement focuses on the shrinking civic space, pressure on independent organizations, persecution of activists, and the use of legislation to suppress criticism. The statement addresses Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Key points: Civic space across Central Asia continues to shrink. Independent organizations operate under increasing scrutiny, stigmatization, and persecution. Human rights defenders, activists, journalists, bloggers, and other critical voices face criminal prosecution, arrest, and imprisonment. Repression is increasingly extending beyond national borders and into the digital sphere, highlighting the growing problem of transnational and digital repression. Authorities use vaguely worded provisions on “false information,” extremism, incitement, disobedience, and mass disturbances to punish peaceful expression and civic or political activity. Governments are urged to end arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, as well as preventive detention and other forms of repression against peaceful protesters and organizers. States should ensure independent investigations into threats, attacks, torture, and other abuses against human rights defenders, journalists, and activists, and hold those responsible accountable. A separate demand is to prevent digital technologies from being used to persecute individuals for their civic and human rights activities. International partners and OSCE participating States are urged to make the protection of civic space a permanent priority in political dialogue with Central Asian governments and to raise both systemic violations and individual cases. For Turkmenistan, these demands are particularly significant. The near-total absence of independent civic space inside the country is compounded by pressure on critics abroad, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association, and risks faced by citizens engaged in civic and human rights activities. The first statements at the conference send an important message: human rights must not be treated as a secondary issue in relations with Central Asian states. The protection of civil society should be an integral part of political, economic, and international cooperation. This approach must also be consistently applied to Turkmenistan: international actors should move beyond general diplomatic rhetoric and demand concrete changes in legislation and practice, an end to persecution, and full compliance with international human rights obligations.