Human Rights Watch urged the US to focus on human rights in Central Asia

The international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the United States to raise the issue of human rights violations in Central Asia as a key topic at the summit with the leaders of these countries.

When the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan gather in Washington on November 6, 2025, they are urged to discuss human rights violations alongside issues of economic and defense cooperation.

“The ‘Central Asia – U.S.’ summit must make the protection of human rights a key part of the agenda, especially in light of the increasing repression across the region,” said HRW’s Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson.

As noted in the organization’s statement, the government of Tajikistan has suppressed independent and critical voices, dissolved hundreds of non-governmental organizations, and imprisoned dozens of bloggers, journalists, and public figures for their views and opinions.

Several political movements and parties that the authorities consider a threat to the regime have been banned and dissolved, including the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) and “Group 24,” whose members have been sentenced to long prison terms.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) emphasized in its statement that Tajik authorities have conducted harsh repressions against dissenters in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region following the violent dispersal of peaceful protests in the region in 2021 and 2022. In 2025, five Pamiris arrested as a result of these repressions died in custody, the statement said.

“The processes of economic and social reforms in Central Asia deserve international support; however, they must be based on respect for human rights and the rule of law to be legitimate. Only then can the 82 million people living in the region truly benefit from the agreements their leaders will make in Washington,” Williamson stated.

Earlier, on November 3, 2025, a group of opposition figures and critics of the current regime in Tajikistan published an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, calling for assistance in the release of political prisoners in Tajikistan.

In their letter, Tajik opposition figures urged Trump to raise the issue of political repression in Tajikistan during the summit with authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon and the leaders of Central Asian countries, demand the immediate release of political prisoners, and facilitate the start of an international dialogue aimed at a peaceful and inclusive political process in the country.

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump invited the presidents of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to participate in the “Central Asia+U.S.” (“C5+1”) summit, which will take place on November 6 in Washington.

The U.S. State Department previously reported serious human rights violations in Central Asian countries, especially in Tajikistan, including torture, arbitrary arrests, and a lack of independence in the judicial system.