After sending SMS about the possibility of citizens’ appeals on human rights issues via the Hotline-115, the number of incoming calls has sharply increased. In this connection, the line is currently overloaded. The Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan Tokon Mamytov told ACCA about this.
According to Tokon Mamytov, the increased number of calls is primarily due to the fact that the hotline functioned intermittently for some time. And only recently, it was launched in a full-fledged format.
“The hotline has existed for a long time, but due to recurring funding problems, it didn’t always work in full. Now we are supported by donors, and the government of the Kyrgyz Republic has helped to form the staff,” says the Ombudsman.
Once the system was restored, the Institute, using various communication channels such as SMS notification, Telegram, Facebook, etc., tried to inform citizens about the possibility to report violations of their rights by a short number.
“We wanted to reach out to citizens and we succeeded. However, not all people fully understand what problems they can contact us. 80% of all calls are for non-human rights violations. People call and complain about rising prices, limited access to the cemetery, lack of parking, etc. In general, we can say that tension in society has grown, and people just need to speak their mind,” Mamytov explained.
Indeed, 20% of calls are related to human rights violations. Among them, the Ombudsman referred to violations of procedural norms during the investigation of a criminal case. There are also reports of various kinds of violations from closed institutions.
“During the conversation, we explain to the applicants that in order to start the proceedings in their case, they must come to us and write a statement, provide evidence. However, many of them are limited to just calling,” says Tokon Mamytov.
He added that the analysis of appeals indicates limited access to the heads of state and municipal services. In particular, almost all applicants declare that for a long time they cannot solve their problems, since they are simply not accepted. This is a violation, because the law clearly states that leaders of all ranks must hold meetings with the population, they have a special time for this. However, according to Tokon Mamytov, in fact, most officials don’t comply with this requirement of the law.
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