Human Rights in Central Asia: Between Internationalization and Nation Building

The joint project between the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast Studies (IOS) in Regensburg (Germany) and the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) seeks to develop a better understanding of the impact of international human rights standards on internationalization and nation-building in Central Asia. For this purpose, we will focus on human rights and human rights policies in the process of transformation, state-building, and nation-building in states of Central Asia.

Additionally, we will also address the contributions of science communication and knowledge transfer between German and Central Asian scholars and civil society activists to human rights empowerment. With two international workshops we will seeks intensive exchange with scholars from Central Asia working on human rights in the region as well as with activists from civil society organisations we will discuss challenges as well as best practice of human rights promotion and empowerment in Central Asia.

Workshops with representatives from CSOs and Academia on Human Rights in Central Asia will be held from 4-8 October 2021 in Bishkek.

The core objectives of this joint project are:
1) to build a network of academics and young scholars from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan;
2) to develop – jointly with civil society organizations and academics – educational and training material (in print and electronical) that contribute to human rights empowerment in Central Asia.

OSCE Academy Project Team

Right to left: Prof. Dr. Anja Mihr, DAAD Associate Professor at the OSCE Academy and Aikerim Nazaralieva, Research Assistant