VZCZCXRO4127
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHMRE
RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHEK #1298/01 2921119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191119Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BISHKEK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0286
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001298 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/WI 
STATE ALSO FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O.  12958: NA 
TAGS: KWMN PHUM PREL KG
SUBJECT: EMBASSY BISHKEK'S NOMINATION FOR THE 2008 SECRETARY'S AWARD 
FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE 
 
REF: STATE 126072 
 
¶1. (SBU) Post is pleased to submit its nomination for the 2008 
Secretary's Woman of Courage Award. We nominate Ms. Cholpon Idinovna 
 
SIPDIS 
Djakupova, a well known fearless human rights activist and outspoken 
defender of the rights of refugees. Ms. Djakupova heads the NGO 
legal clinic 'Adilet' which is a project sponsored by UNHCR, UNDP, 
OSCE, DRC, and ODIHR. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Ms. Djakupova is one of the leading advocates for refugee 
and detainee's rights in Kyrgyzstan, and her public and persistent 
advocacy often brings her into direct confrontation with senior 
government officials.  One of Ms. Djakupova's many accomplishments 
was her defense of the human rights of the more than 450 Uzbek 
refugees who fled to Kyrgyzstan after the events in Andijan in May 
¶2005.  Ms. Djakupova and her 'Adilet' Clinic helped the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other 
international organizations in negotiating with the Kyrgyz 
government the relocation of about 450 refugees to third countries. 
Ms. Djakupova's legal clinic volunteered to help the least fortunate 
of the refugees, who otherwise would not have been able to afford 
legal assistance.  Ms. Djakupova also courageously appealed the July 
2005 decision of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs Migration 
Service Department to deny refugee status for four of the Uzbeks; 
UNHCR had already deemed them eligible for refugee status.  The 
Adilet legal clinic pursued this case to the Kyrgyz Court of Appeals 
and eventually sent a complaint to the UN Human Rights Commission in 
Geneva to stop the deportation of the refugees. Although the Kyrgyz 
government eventually deported the four refugees back to Uzbekistan, 
ignoring requests by the United Nations and the international 
community, Ms. Djakupova's strong advocacy on behalf of the four 
helped protect the remaining 450 refugees who, with Adilet's help, 
found resettlement in third countries.  Ms. Djakupova was a brave 
and dedicated activist who stood up for the ideals of human rights 
and fought for the rights of the less fortunate against bureaucratic 
systems and inflexible governments. This is especially noteworthy in 
a country like the Kyrgyz Republic, where Ms. Djakupova's courageous 
and principled stance has brought her into conflict with government 
officials, resulting in personal hardships. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ms. Djakupova protects the rights not only of refugees but 
also regularly volunteers to protect the rights of illegally 
detained Kyrgyz citizens.  She continues to insist that the 
government must always follow the rule of law, and that it should 
only detain its citizens with lawful cause and in a lawful manner. 
This is often not the case, where law enforcement officials are 
known to abuse detainees in order to force confessions.  Ms. 
Djakupova demanded that the government to release 37 individuals 
arrested during the April 2007 anti-government protest rallies.  Ms. 
Djakupova made the case that the government could detain its people 
only if there was probable cause or court issued warrants.  Because 
of the public pressure brought to bear by Ms. Djakupova and other 
human rights activists, most of those arrested were released.  These 
episodes demonstrated that through the personal bravery, dedication 
and hard work of Ms. Djakupova, one woman can make a huge difference 
in the protection of human rights of her fellow citizens. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ms. Djakupova began her work on human rights in 1995 when 
she was appointed as the head of the Department on Migration at the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.  Ms. Djakupova opened her 
clinic 'Adilet' in May, 2002 to protect the legal interests of 
vulnerable people by performing legal, educational, informational, 
and lawmaking activities. 'Adilet' is the only legal clinic in all 
of Central Asia that provides such a diverse range of services for 
its clients who include sexual workers, refugees, and asylum 
seekers. Since its inception, 'Adilet' has provided more than 10,000 
legal consultations and has represented its clients more then 500 
times before the courts, law enforcement bodies and other government 
agencies. 'Adilet' and Ms. Djakupova personally are also closely 
involved in lawmaking where she is very often the leading expert in 
writing amendments in the refugee and citizenship laws of the Kyrgyz 
Republic. She also has participated in various meetings of working 
groups on making secondary laws on other issues such as HIV laws and 
the Children's Code.  'Adilet' has established constructive 
relations with the lead law enforcement agencies in Kyrgyzstan such 
as the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Interior, the 
Supreme Court, the Border service, and the State Committee for 
Migration and Employment.  She has also provided educational 
materials and manuals to government training institutions.  Through 
her efforts, law enforcement and migration officials, judges and 
prosecutors, border guards and students have received comprehensive 
training on various aspects of protection of human rights. 
 
¶4. (SBU) contact information for Ms. Cholpon Djakupova: 
--- Title and organization: Director, Legal clinic 'Adilet' 
 
BISHKEK 00001298  002 OF 002 
 
 
--- DOB: March 25, 1959 
--- Place of birth: Kyrgyzstan 
--- Citizenship: Kyrgyzstan 
--- Passport #: AC 029985 
--- Address: 39 Umetalieva St., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 720010 
--- Contact phone: (996)(312) 65-15-55 (work), (996)(312) 58-28-98 
(cell) 
--- E-mail: legal@elcat.kg 
 
¶5. (U) Post's POC is Jasmine Cameron, Legal Assistant, Office of the 
Resident Legal Adviser 
--- Telephone number: (996)(312)55-12-41, ext. 4496 
--- Fax: (996)(312)55-12-64 
--- E-mail: cameronjd@state.gov 
 
YOVANOVITCH