Kyrgyzstan Issues - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

disputes in Isfara Valley delay completion of delimitation with Tajikistan; delimitation of approximately 15% or 200 km of border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes over enclaves and other areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons

stateless persons: 18 (2020)

Illicit drugs

limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy for CIS markets; limited government eradication of illicit crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe; major consumer of opiates

Trafficking in persons

current situation: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyzstanis abroad; Kyrgyz men, women, and children are exploited in forced labor in Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and other European countries specifically in agriculture, construction, textiles, domestic service, and childcare; sex traffickers exploit Kyrgyz women and girls domestically and in India, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; problems with police misconduct and corruption include allegations that police threaten and extort sex trafficking victims and accept bribes from alleged traffickers to drop cases; street children who beg or do domestic work are vulnerable to traffickers

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Kyrgyzstan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government adopted a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) that established formal policies on victim identification and the provision of social services;  the government established an interagency focus group to accelerate implementation of the NRM and improve law enforcement investigations; authorities increased investigations but did not prosecute or convict any traffickers; the government conducted limited training on the NRM; some officials reportedly  dropped charges or tipped off suspects and allowed victims to be pressured or paid to drop charges against alleged traffickers; the government’s written plan, if implemented, would meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, Kyrgyzstan was granted a waiver per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 (2020)

NOTE: The information regarding Kyrgyzstan on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kyrgyzstan 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kyrgyzstan 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.