The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.
Challenges: Endemic corruption and limited capacity hinder reform efforts in the law enforcement and judicial sector. The Kyrgyz Republic is also part of the northern narcotics trade route that transits heroin and other drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe.
Goals: INL programs in the Kyrgyz Republic include: 1) promoting law enforcement reforms through community policing training and supporting efforts to counter narcotics and violent extremism; 2) improving the criminal justice sector response to human trafficking; 3) implementing the new criminal codes; and 4) spurring anti-corruption efforts.
Accomplishments: INL promotes cooperation among police and communities through its community policing initiative in the sometimes volatile southern border regions. INL will continue to work with the Kyrgyz government to reduce corruption, implement the updated criminal codes, and strengthen the rule of law. INL programming will also continue to support efforts to increase arrests and prosecutions of human traffickers.