A/HRC/45/13/Add.2 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 24 August 2020 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-fifth session 14 September–2 October 2020 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Visit to Kyrgyzstan Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances*, ** Summary The Working Group conducted a visit to Kyrgyzstan from 25 to 30 June 2019. The Government of Kyrgyzstan has made significant legislative improvements in the protection against enforced disappearance in recent years. In particular, the introduction of the new crime of enforced disappearance and legislative changes improving the notification and registration requirements during initial apprehension and detention are positive developments. However, despite these measures and the statements made by the country’s leadership about there being strong political will and about robust action being taken to counter enforced disappearance and torture, substantive changes in practice are still lacking. A concerted effort is needed, in particular, to eradicate the widespread problem of enforced disappearance of short duration following the initial apprehension of suspects, as now defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Adherence to the principle of non-refoulement is important for strengthening protection against enforced disappearance. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reiterates the need to ensure that the principle is enshrined in Kyrgyz legislation and implemented in practice and that no individual is expelled, returned or extradited to a State where there are substantial grounds to believe that he or she may be at risk of enforced disappearance. Moreover, there continues to be a small number of individuals missing and of bodies pending identification in relation to the inter-ethnic violence that broke out in the southern provinces in 2010. The Working Group encourages the Government to undertake further efforts to resolve these cases and to fully address the consequences of the events. * The summary of the report is being circulated in all official languages. The report itself, which is annexed to the summary, is being circulated in the language of submission and Russian only. ** The present report was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect recent developments. GE.20-11007(E) 