OSCE supports mentoring workshop for mobile doctors in Kyrgyzstan on best practices in health care and human rights protection

ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan, 24 August 2016 – A two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek  for 16 young and recently-recruited mobile doctors from Batken, Osh, Jalalabad and Talas provinces on health care and human rights protection in detention facilities started today in Sary-Oi, Issyk-Kul region.

During the workshop, young professionals will be trained and mentored by experienced OSCE-supported doctors and learn about best practices in health care provision in detention facilities along with the documentation of instances of torture and/or other inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment.  In addition, the participants will learn about the normative legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic on the rights of persons in closed facilities, and the basic principles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

“Protection against torture and other inhuman, cruel treatment is enshrined in a number of international human rights treaties to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. Ensuring that such rights are not violated in closed institutions falls under the full responsibility of the state,” said Anete Erdmane, Acting Senior Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “Bearing in mind its mandate, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek assists the Kyrgyz government with implementing such obligations by engaging different actors and promoting awareness on the relevant human rights obligations.”

In 2015, the OSCE Centre supported the standardization of all medical documentation in line with the Clinical Guidelines adopted by the Ministry of Health to ensure that these documents reach the courts or can be used as evidence by investigators or lawyers. This year, the emphasis is placed on evaluating the implementation of these standards in practice.

This workshop is part of the OSCE Centre’s project on promoting a comprehensive approach to the rule of law, administration of justice, prevention of torture and capacity building. The medical component of the project is focused on improving co-ordination among OSCE-supported doctors, developing tools of standardization, capacity building and strengthening relationships with National Human Rights Institutions and the Ministry of Health.