Dear President Bakiev,

I am writing to urge your government to ensure that asylum seekers and refugees in Kyrgyzstan fully enjoy the protections to which they are entitled under international and Kyrgyz refugee law. Human Rights Watch also urges you to ensure that the government investigates the recent disappearance from Kyrgyzstan of an Uzbek asylum seeker and to actively inquire after and monitor the situation of individuals returned

By Inga Sikorskaya in Bishkek (RCA No. 551, 13-Oct-08)

The European Union has eased the sanctions it imposed on Uzbekistan following the violence in Andijan in May 2005, lifting a visa ban on senior officials but prolonging an embargo on arms sales for another year.

Following a meeting of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council on October 13, a statement was issued saying the EU "welcomes the progress achieved in Uzbekistan in the

On August 14, a group of Uzbek asylum seekers said that the State Committee for Migration and Employment had refused to extend their certificates of registration that grant them the right to stay in Kyrgyzstan while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, reviews their case.

The state committee gives everyone seeking refugee status in a third country a certificate registering their application.

Good meteorological conditions for winter wheat growth during April-May 2008 were observed in Caucasus countries, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. However due to unfavorable winter conditions, winter wheat status at the end of May 2008 is likely to be worse than in the previous year and than normal in the last three countries. Low amount of rain should affect last stages of wheat development in Iran, northern Afghanistan, and especially in Iraq. Remote sensing indicators

'Civil society in Uzbekistancontinues to face severe restrictions in the exercise of its constitutionally protected freedoms of expression, assembly and association. In fact, following the tragic Andijan events, repression of critical voices has increased dramatically,'said

(Moscow, May 12, 2008) - The Uzbek government continues to persecute people it believes have any connection with the May 2005 unrest in Andijan, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

The 45-page report, 'Saving its Secrets: Government Repression in Andijan,' documents intense government pressure on people who participated in the Andijan protests, families of refugees who fled Uzbekistan in the aftermath of the Andijan violence, and refugees

(Brussels, April 26, 2008) - The European Union should maintain its sanctions regime on Uzbekistan until Tashkent delivers on key human rights demands, Human Rights Watch said today.

The European Union (EU) is conducting its twice-yearly review of the sanctions, and foreign ministers are due to reach a final agreement during the upcoming General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), to be held in Luxembourg on April 28 and 29. At issue is whether the EU should extend the conditional suspension of

In brief

Programme summary: In 2006 and 2007, the Red Crescent Societies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' regional representation for central Asia, worked to reduce vulnerabilities and build capacities within the areas linked to the Global Agenda. The programme objectives have, to a high degree, been achieved. However, while some have been moving forward at a smooth