The public association "Bir Duyno Kyrgyzstan" expressed its concerns regarding the draft law related to the regulation of religious education abroad, which may negatively impact the constitutional rights of citizens.
According to the organization's information, on February 23, 2026, a draft law was presented to the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, amending several existing legislative acts affecting the religious sphere. The amendments pertain to the Code on Children, the Code on Offenses, as well as the laws "On External Migration," "On Education," and "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations."
One of the key initiatives of the draft law is a complete ban on citizens under the age of 18 traveling abroad for the purpose of receiving religious education. Responsibility is also stipulated for parents and other individuals facilitating such trips.
In particular, it is proposed to add an amendment to the Code on Offenses, consisting of adding part 9 to article 142. This innovation implies a fine of 20,000 soms for individuals and 65,000 soms for legal entities for the travel of minors abroad for religious education or for facilitating such travel.
As stated in the justification for the draft law, this initiative was prepared in accordance with the president's directives and aims to protect children's rights and ensure national security. The authors of the document refer to cases of minors being sent to foreign religious educational institutions with destructive teaching methods, as well as threats of involving teenagers in radical and extremist organizations.
Nevertheless, the public association "Bir Duyno Kyrgyzstan" believes that the proposed changes may contradict the Constitution and limit citizens' rights. They note that the draft law does not contain clear criteria for determining foreign religious educational institutions with a "destructive nature of teaching." This could lead to all foreign religious educational institutions being classified as undesirable.
Human rights defenders also emphasize that the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to profess any religion or not to profess at all, as well as to freely choose their religious beliefs. The realization of these rights, in their opinion, includes the opportunity to study religious teachings and access relevant information.
Furthermore, the restrictions may affect citizens' right to education and freedom of knowledge acquisition, as well as their right to freely travel abroad.
In light of the above, the public association "Bir Duyno Kyrgyzstan" has called on the authors of the draft law to withdraw it to prevent possible violations of citizens' constitutional rights. An analytical note is attached to the statement.
