Concept of strengthening the unity of people and interethnic relations in the Kyrgyz Republic.

This nationwide policy document shall be open-ended, adopted with a view of strengthening the unity of people and interethnic relations in the Kyrgyz Republic as an officially recognized system of principles, goals and objectives, developed to concretize and implement interethnic harmony and strengthening unity of the people. The Concept is cross-sectoral and is based on the following principles: (a) commitment to democratic values: acknowledgement of supremacy of rights, creating conditions for the realization of personal, social, economic, cultural, political rights of citizens on the basis of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, national legislation, international treaties and generally accepted norms of international law; (b) strengthening statehood, preserving territorial integrity: shared responsibility for maintaining the integrity and sovereignty of the country, inadmissibility of activities aimed at inciting interethnic discord and division based on regional origin; (c) systematic activity of the state, authorities, local self-government, political parties, civil society institutions on strengthening social cohesion and unity of the people of Kyrgyzstan, ensuring equal rights and opportunities for citizens of the country for their self-realization regardless of ethnicity; (d) acknowledgement of unity in diversity, including ethnic, cultural, linguistic, age and other differences in all spheres of public life; (e) respect for the historical and cultural heritage of the people of Kyrgyzstan, for the history of the state, the preservation of the national values and ideals of unity, identity of ethnic groups, development of intercultural dialogue and tolerance; and (f) the unifying role of the state Kyrgyz language: awareness and perception by all citizens of the country of the necessity of the state language proficiency, as one of the most important foundations of consolidation of the society.
The purpose of the Concept is to contribute to ensuring national unity through improving interethnic relations, preserving cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of the country. Achieving this goal is possible when solving the following tasks: (a) improvement of the legislative framework, development of norms and rules, in accordance with which shall be implemented inalienable ethnocultural rights; (b) creation of a system of responsible structural bodies of the executive branch for the implementation of policies to strengthen general civil unity and integrity of the state, as well as regulation of interethnic relations and language policy, including authorized state body at the national level, creation of necessary infrastructure at the national, regional and local levels; (c) interaction of state bodies, ministries and departments, local authorities and self-government bodies related to civil society monitoring, early warning of conflicts and peacebuilding; (d) ensuring the real unifying role of the state language and preservation of the languages of ethnic communities; and (e) formation of a civil identity.
Implementation of the Concept shall be in three stages: I adoption of targeted government programs with the allocation of resources; II improving the management system of interethnic relations, formation of a civil identity, coordination and control over the implementation of adopted programs, regulation of activities of the relevant ministries and departments, local government bodies and self-government; and III assessment of the implementation of the Concept.
The Concept states that well-being, stability, peace and harmony in the country largely depend on the degree of consolidation of the Kyrgyz ethnic community, which is the core of unified people, and its harmonious interaction with all ethnic communities with which they make up the people of Kyrgyzstan.
State and legal regulation of interethnic relations must ensure: (a) implementation of the principle of equality of citizens regardless of race, ethnicity, attitudes towards religion, and other circumstances when applying for a job, when filling positions in state and municipal service, law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, when forming a personnel reserve at the national, regional and local levels; (b) taking measures to prevent discrimination in attitude of citizens of different ethnicity when in the process of exercising by state and municipal bodies and organizations of their activities; (c) supporting initiatives for the development of multi-ethnic communities, cohabitation and activity of citizens of different nationalities; and (d) conducting confidence building and consolidation activities of society both in the territories where representatives of various ethnic communities live and in mono-ethnic regions.