The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan passed a bill modeled after Russia’s “foreign agents” law on Thursday, increasing the government’s oversight of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The law will require anyone receiving foreign donations to label themselves a “foreign representative” and follow tighter guidelines when documenting their activities. The bill specifically targets NGOs receiving foreign funding, and it requires such organizations to join a “foreign representative” registry and provide additional reports on their organizational activities. Styled after Russia’s 2012 “foreign agents” law, the Kyrgyzstan Parliament stated the bill was crafted to improve transparency over the activities of foreign citizens and persons receiving funding from abroad.

The draft law has been strongly criticized by human rights activists, foreign governments and NGOs around the world. A joint statement by the European Union Delegation and the Embassies of Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States urged Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov to not sign the bill into law. The statement cited concerns over the bill’s negative effects on “the most vulnerable” members of society, claiming the law would hinder foreign countries’ efforts to provide assistance to Kyrgyzstan’s citizens. US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Lesslie Viguerie emphasized that most US assistance to Kyrgyzstan comes through NGOs, stating, “[o]ur ability to provide schoolchildren with hot meals and textbooks, provide essential medical care to treat dangerous diseases, or work with Kyrgyz farmers to increase agricultural exports and support the transition to a new, more environmentally sustainable economy will all be potentially limited by this legislation.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wrote a letter to Japarov in February to express his apprehension over the bill. Japarov responded by defending the draft law, claiming it would simply improve the transparency of NGOs working in Kyrgyzstan. Japarov also argued that Western nations are attempting to influence Kyrgyzstan through civil society and that this law will protect the country from such external influence.

Russia has similarly accused the West of intervening in its internal affairs, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Critics have expressed concern over Russia’s increasing influence over Kyrgyzstan in recent years, especially with the Parliament’s adoption of the “foreign representatives” bill on Thursday. Associate Professor at the National Defense University Erica Marat stated, “[f]ollowing its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has expanded its influence in Central Asia, one of the few regions that can directly or indirectly support Russia’s actions in Ukraine.” Marat claimed that the Central Asian regimes are willing to cooperate with Russia, as well as China, “because they know that these governments will never request those regimes to democratize or respect human rights and support freedom of speech.”

Japarov’s signature is now all that is required for the law to come into effect, and various human rights organizations are calling on him to reject the legislation. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan said, “[t]he Kyrgyz government should see civil society organizations, grassroots movements, and human rights defenders as its allies in building a thriving and inclusive society, and ensure an enabling environment that fosters diversity of opinion and freedom of association.” Amnesty International expressed similar concerns, claiming the legislators did not address various human rights issues that violate international human rights law. Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director Marie Struthers called on Japarov to veto the legislation and claimed that Kyrgyzstan’s international partners must remind the country’s government “what freedom of association means in practice, and compel them to immediately engage in meaningful dialogue with civil society organizations so that this harmful legislative initiative does not become law.”