Human Rights Concerns Loom Over Germany-Central Asia Summit

By RFE/RL staff - Sep 20, 2024

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized the strategic importance of closer cooperation with Central Asian countries, particularly in light of global uncertainty.
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• The leaders discussed economic partnerships and the potential for Central Asia to become a hub for technology and production.
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• Human rights concerns in Central Asia and the situation in Afghanistan were also addressed during the summit, with Scholz calling for improvements in human rights and expressing concern over the Taliban's rule.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on September 17 told the leaders of the five Central Asian states that the development of cooperation with their countries was "a strategic goal" for Germany.

"Never before has the exchange between our societies been so close -- and it is constantly increasing: politically, economically, and culturally," Scholz said, adding that Berlin wants "to continue and further intensify this."

Speaking in Astana at the second summit of the Central Asian states and Germany, Scholz said that "especially in times of global uncertainty, we need close, trusting international partners."

Scholz last met with the Central Asian leaders at their first summit with Germany held in Berlin in September 2023 amid efforts to counter Russian influence in the region.

The host of the second summit, Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, expressed gratitude to German entities that have established cooperation between "one of the world's leading nations in terms of economic and technological innovations" and the countries of Central Asia.

Central Asia is a "dynamically developing region with an enormous potential for development and wide opportunities for mutually profitable partnership," Toqaev said at the summit.

"By uniting east and west, north and south, Central Asia can become a center of attraction of technologies, localization of production, and producing outputs with a high added value," he said, adding that the region was "open for cooperation in different spheres."

Presidents Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Serdar Berdymukhammedov of Turkmenistan, and Shavkat Mirziyoev of Uzbekistan also stressed the importance of cooperation with Germany, but not all agree with Scholz on recognition of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, which he said came to power "illegally."

Scholz also called ongoing developments in Afghanistan "depressing" and stressed that the situation faced by Afghan women under Taliban rule was "intolerable."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week issued a statement calling on Scholz to focus on human rights in the five tightly controlled Central Asian nations during this year's summit.

"Serious human rights concerns across the region include suppression of the rights to protest and express opinions, including online, jailing of activists, torture in detention, crackdowns on civil society, violence against women, impunity for abusive security forces, and a lack of free and fair elections," the HRW statement said.

"The German government cannot pretend closer ties with Central Asia are possible without a significant improvement in human rights in the region. The upcoming summit offers a chance to make this clear," it added.

By RFE/RL