A/HRC/17/41 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 14/14 of 18 June 2010, whereby the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was requested to continue to provide technical assistance through her office in Bishkek, to work with the Government of Kyrgyzstan and other actors, as needed, to identify additional areas of assistance that would aid Kyrgyzstan in its ability to fulfil its human rights obligations, and to submit a report thereon to the Council for consideration at the seventeenth session of the Council. 2. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) established its Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA) in 2008. Based in Bishkek, the regional office covers Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Its main functions include strengthening the capacity of national Governments, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations to increase the compliance of the concerned States with international human rights standards and to improve protection against human rights violations. The regional office also provides support to United Nations country teams in integrating a human rights-based approach to the planning and implementation of programmes. II. Developments relevant to the human rights situation between June 2010 and February 2011 3. In response to the outbreak of the June 2010 inter-ethnic violence in the south of the country and its impact on the human rights situation, OHCHR sent a mission to Osh in July 2010. The mission monitors and reports on the ongoing human rights challenges in order to identify the main areas of assistance to Kyrgyzstan. 4. The Government has indicated its commitment to undertake certain steps to improve the national human rights protection system. With a view to reforming and strengthening institutions in the legislative sector, the Government has committed to the elaboration of a concept for legal development, which will map future legal reforms and promote further compliance of national laws with international human rights standards. 5. Despite the efforts of the Government to address human rights issues, a number of serious concerns persist, such as the increase in reports of discriminatory practices by government bodies towards minorities, and the ongoing use and practice by law enforcement bodies of ill-treatment and torture while detainees are in custody. 6. Deficiencies in the administration of justice pose a major impediment to the reestablishment of the rule of law. The judicial system must maintain its impartiality irrespective of the ethnicity of victims, lawyers and defendants. Judges, as the guarantors of the rule of law, should be guided exclusively by the new Constitution and applicable international human rights standards. The situation of adequate housing remains of concern due to insufficient State funding and investments, the overall difficulties of economic development and the low standard of living, the challenges of rapid urban development and internal migration, corruption and the recent political instability. All of these aspects are further compounded by the lack of information and access to information, and the need to improve inclusive consultations between authorities and civil society. In this respect, a good initiative is the platform for monthly meetings between civil society organizations and the President of Kyrgyzstan and members of her Government. 3