In March 2024 Kyrgyzstan introduced a "foreign representatives" law that requires organizations with foreign funding to be registered and audited. Lagene, reminiscent of Russia's infamous Foreign Agent Law, has awakened strong reactions internationally. Critics believe that the law hoodr civil society's independence and limitr freedom of expression.
On March 14, 2024, a striking majority of Kyrgyzstan's parliamentarians voted through a law on foreign representatives. Only five members voted against, while nine abstained. Despite extensive international criticism, the vote was carried out without debate and took a total of seven minutes, reports say Eurasianet.
The law, like the Russian law on foreign agents, requires organizations and individuals that receive funding from abroad and engage in political activities to register as foreign representatives.
These actors must submit to extensive monitoring and reporting. Violation of the rules can lead to fines, forced dissolution of organizations and in some cases criminal legal action for individuals.
When the bill was introduced in parliament in May 2023, it was met with widespread international criticism. human rights organizations, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warned of the law's potentially devastating effects on civil society.
Despite the international opposition, the law is now a reality.
- That the parliament adopts this legislation is deeply worrying, comments Marie Struthers, head of Amnesty International's department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in a press release and warns that the law risks eroding the independence of civil society.
From independent voices to “foreign representatives”
The new law is seen by many critics as a tool for the state to control and silence critical voices. Civil society organizations that previously worked independently and unhindered can now be forced to register as foreign representatives – a label that often leads to a loss of credibility and reduced opportunities to operate.
According to International Partnership for Human Rights the law risks giving the authorities the opportunity to arbitrarily discredit and sabotage the work of foreign-funded non-governmental organizations.
A major concern is that support from international donors will decrease. A clear example is Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan which has been in Kyrgyzstan since 1993 and has been an important financier of civil society projects. They left the country at the beginning of 2024, citing changes in "local funding requirements", which can be linked to the financial restrictions that the law imposes on foreign actors.
Even independent media that receive foreign support are at risk. The law means that they are not only forced to report their funding to the state, but also that their work can be dismissed as foreign propaganda. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warns that independent media and human rights groups that have already been targets of the authorities - such as the media Kloop Media and Radio Azattyk - risk suffering further restrictions in their work.
International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch indicates that the situation in Kyrgyzstan is part of a broader trend in Central Asia, where countries are increasingly following Russia's model of controlling civil society.

A law based on the Russian model is spreading
Russia Foreign Agent Law entered into force in 2012, was the first of its kind, and has since been used to stifle civil society and criminalize oppositional voices.
The human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch has documented how legislation in Russia has led to stigmatization, financial penalties and administrative burdens. Factors that forced organizations to shut down their operations.
In an article in New Eastern Europe describes Iskra Kirova, head of advocacy at Human Rights Watch (HRW), that the law has resulted in serious restrictions on civil society's room for action in Russia. Human rights organizations, anti-corruption initiatives and environmental organizations have closed as a result of stigmatizing labels, administrative burdens and financial penalties, Kirova explains.
The Russian model has spread and been adopted by other authoritarian regimes.
I Georgia similar legislation was introduced in May 2024. The Georgian authorities claim that the law promotes transparency, but their rhetoric has clearly shown that the law will be used to stigmatize and punish critical voices, according to the HRW representative.
Kirova describes how a campaign of violent intimidation and smearing of civil society and political activists was underway even before the law's final passage.

Threats to democracy and human rights
Developments in Kyrgyzstan are particularly worrying because the country was previously seen as an exception in the region – a country where democratic values had some foothold. The introduction of the Foreign Representatives Act may change this.
Organizations that were previously symbols of democracy and human rights may now be forced to shut down. With the new law, the future of civil society and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan is at stake.
Maina Kiai, Former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to participate in peaceful assembly and freedom of association, emphasized in 2012 that the ability to receive resources from both domestic and foreign sources is a fundamental part of freedom of association. When this right is curtailed, the entire civil society risks being weakened.
The development illustrates the dangers of foreign representative laws, which risk driving out international actors and weakening local civil society's ability to work for human rights and democracy.
Now the future of civil society in Kyrgyzstan depends on how the law will be applied in practice. If developments in Russia are any indicator, a period of increased repression and reduced independence for human rights organizations, media and other actors promoting democracy and human rights awaits.