A Human Rights Watch report from late April 2020 lambasted Central Asian governments for failing to “consistently uphold human rights obligations in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The region is one which already displays a multitude of anti-democratic features. Freedom House ratings for the five republics range from a high of 38/100 in Kyrgyzstan (‘partly free’) to just 2/100 in Turkmenistan (‘not free’), which scored 0/40 for political rights. The latter nation ranked 179/180 for press freedom this year – bested only by North Korea for lowest global ranking. Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ranked 9/100, 23/100, and 10/100, respectively. 

While the COVID-19 responses across these five Central Asian republics have varied widely, worrying reports concerning human rights violations in the context of the coronavirus crisis have emerged from across the region. Chief among these are fears regarding further suppressions of media freedom, invasive surveillance and privacy concerns, expanded police powers, and grave negligence surrounding the health of citizens. 

RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan were the three quicker responders to the crisis, though they still lagged behind the rest of the world. Only on March 13th did Kazakhstan become the first nation in the region to publicly confirm it had cases, a day after it had closed schools and colleges and suspended public events. Significant economic links with China, however, have led analysts to cast doubt on such figures. By the 19th, the largest city and the capital – Almaty and Nur-Sultan - had been sealed off. The rapidity of this series of events may well indicate that the situation was worse than the government was willing to admit. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan swiftly followed, reporting their first cases on March 15th and March 18th respectively. 

HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS

Endangered press freedoms

The coronavirus crisis is threatening press freedoms across Central Asia. In Uzbekistan – a nation which recently ranked 156/180 for press freedom worldwide - a new law, passed in late March, includes charges for distributing false information about COVID-19, including hefty fines and three-year prison sentences for violations. Meanwhile, in Tajikistan, the government has introduced fines of up to EUR995 for ‘false or inaccurate’ COVID-19 coverage – quite astounding in a nation with a GNI per capita of just north of $1,000 in 2018.

Surveillance and privacy violations.

Surveillance and privacy concerns have been particularly marked in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In the former, facial recognition cameras are used to punish people who violate quarantine. While this is perhaps justifiable in the current climate, this raises concerns regarding increased police power once the crisis passes. In the future, collated citizen data and continued use of such surveillance technologies could well be used to further suppress and target citizens and dissenters.  

In Kyrgyzstan, there are concerning reports surrounding an app intended to enforce quarantine rules and track suspected COVID-19 carriers. Little care has been taken to protect users’ data, and there is at least one instance of a user accessing another user’s personal data. It is also unclear which government bodies will have access to such data. this is especially ominous given that the GKNB (successor to the KGB) has detained activists and journalists for distributing images and information on ground relaties, accusing them of ‘spreading knowingly false information’ about the virus.

In Uzbekistan, meanwhile, those in quarantine have had their phones and bank cards confiscated from them, citing an apparent need to limit the spread of fear and disinformation. 

Violations of the right to health.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the response across Central Asia has been the threat which ineptitude has posed, and continues to pose, to the health of citizens. Most worrying in this regard are developments in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

By May 17th, Tajikistan had reported 39 deaths. Alternative tallies, however, counted more than 200 people by May 14th– deaths they attributed to efforts by the authorities to hide the virus for weeks. Instead, there were reports of a surge in ‘pneumonia’ cases in the weeks before an admission was finally forthcoming. The Health Minister had previously insisted that an outbreak was unlikely due to the nation’s hot and dry climate. 

The government has also restricted its citizens’ access to information regarding the outbreak: at the end of March, it was announced that non-state media outlets would not receive accreditation for the duration of the emergency. Given the government’s clear ineptitude for providing accurate information, this threatens the health of citizens who may well be rendered unaware of COVID-19’s severity in Tajikistan. 

President Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan has continued to deny that the country has any cases – a dubious claim given his nation’s border with Iran, which had 500,000 cases by the beginning of April, and the rising number of cases across the region. 

RFE/RL has reported, however, that two major hospitals in Turkmenistan have been locked down. On June 15th, at least 34 patients were diagnosed with acute pneumonia at a regional hospital in Turkmenabat, prompting some analysts to suggest that a coronavirus announcement is finally near. Instead, the President - despite being a former Health Minister, advised citizens to fumigate their homes with a herb which, he purported, would help ‘kill’ the virus. 

Additionally, residents there are faced with a highly corrupt medical system – whereby they are forced to pay to access quality healthcare – further denying their right to the highest attainable standard of health. 

Reports that staff at a hospital in the Turkmen capital – Ashgabat – have not been allowed to leave, or use their phones to communicate, prompted further concerns that information regarding the outbreak is being kept from citizens. Citizens are also forbidden from wearing masks or other protective gear in public spaces, presumably in an attempt to stop knowledge of the virus spreading. 

Ironically, President Berdimuhamedow wheeled out 7,000 cyclists in a celebration for World Health Day in early April. His abdication of governmental responsibility for protecting citizens, and the resulting negligence and misinformation, seriously threatens the health of Turkmens. 

In Kazakhstan, meanwhile, more than 1,000 citizens have been placed in custody for alleged quarantine violations, raising issues over the confined spaces they are reportedly held in, with lack of medical access. 

CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE

Across the region, coronavirus has exacerbated pre-existing human rights issues. The impending economic downturns – particularly given the nations’ general reliance on energy exports and remittances – will likely pose further issues, including increasing poverty rates and economic and social turmoil. In the past, these have resulted in government crackdowns on protests. Given the recent collapse in oil prices, Central Asian governments may also find themselves even less able to provide healthcare for their citizens. 

As the coronavirus crisis rumbles on, human rights in Central Asia will likely be further threatened. Particularly worrying are the expanded police powers, and how these might be utilised for other nefarious means in the future. As Milton Friedman once warned, there is nothing more permanent than a temporary government solution. 

Media freedoms in Central Asia – where one finds some of the worst-ranked nations in the world – will also likely continue to be curbed as communities are cut off from reliable information surrounding the crisis, and those who dare to disseminate such information are punished. This, in addition to other issues including lacklustre healthcare infrastructure, pose a growing threat to citizens’ rights to health, and to democracy. 

Mitch is a final year History, Politics and Economics student at UCL. He has keen interests in issues related to the Former Soviet Union, as well as Central and Eastern Europe. He is a freelance contributor to multiple publications, including Oxford Business Group Reports.

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