Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN CONDEMNS DEATH PENALTY REVIVAL IN KYRGYZSTAN AS VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

October 23, 2025:

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on October 20, 2025 warned that the reinstation of the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan would breach international law obligations.
Türk declared that the proposals to reintroduce the death penalty as a response to serious crimes should be discontinued. Kyrgyzstan should focus on “ensuring the effective protection of the law and adequate access to justice and redress. The answer must be a well-resourced, victim-centered approach to tackling violence, including sexual violence.”
The proposal to reintroduce the death penalty was sparked by the rape and murder of a girl in September 2025. In response, the Kyrgyz authorities have put forward a proposal to withdrawal from the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP2) and the reintroduction of capital punishment through constitutional amendment. This would allow the death penalty to be used “for the rape of a child and for the rape and murder of a child or adult victim.” A referendum will be held to vote on the proposals and, if approved, will be sent to Parliament.
Capital punishment in Kyrgyzstan was formally abolished in 2007. Subsequently, Kyrgyzstan ratified the ICCPR-OP2 in 2010. Article 1 of the ICCPR-OP2 highlights that States must “take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within [their] jurisdiction.” Importantly, States parties cannot reintroduce the death penalty if it has been abolished, meaning it is legally irrevocable.