In Kyrgyzstan, human rights advocates have reported a risk of violations of citizens’ constitutional rights in connection with a draft law regulating religious education abroad.

This was reported by Vecherniy Bishkek.

According to the public association Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan, on February 23, 2026 a draft law proposing amendments to a number of legislative acts in the religious sphere was submitted to the Zhogorku Kenesh, the parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. The amendments are proposed for the Code on Children, the Code on Offenses, and the laws On External Migration, On Education, and On Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations.

The draft law provides for a complete ban on citizens of Kyrgyzstan under the age of 18 leaving the country to obtain religious education. It also proposes the introduction of liability for parents and other persons who facilitate such travel.

The explanatory note to the document states that the initiative was prepared in fulfillment of instructions from the president and is aimed at protecting the rights and interests of children and ensuring national security. The authors of the draft law refer to cases in which minors were taken to foreign religious educational institutions with a destructive nature of instruction, as well as to the risks of teenagers being drawn into radical and extremist structures.

However, the public association Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan believes that the proposed provisions may contradict the Constitution and restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The organization notes that the draft law lacks a clear mechanism for identifying foreign religious educational institutions with a “destructive nature of instruction.” According to human rights advocates, without such criteria virtually all foreign religious educational institutions could in practice be classified as undesirable.

The association also recalls that the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to profess any religion or none at all, as well as the freedom to choose and hold religious beliefs. According to the authors of the statement, the realization of these rights implies the possibility of studying religious teachings and having access to relevant information.

In this connection, the public association Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan called on the initiators of the draft law to withdraw the document in order to avoid a possible violation of citizens’ constitutional rights.