At the meeting the OSCE Centre’s police reform programme team presented information about activities carried out jointly with the Interior Ministry. They emphasized that the overall goal of the programme was to help create a Kyrgyz police force that meets democratic standards and whose purpose is to serve the people and confirm the rule of law and human rights.

Lilian Darii, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, stressed that achieving these goals required close co-operation between law enforcement bodies and society, based on trust.

"The participation of all stakeholders, including civil society, is necessary for the successful implementation of police reforms. Therefore, the contribution of human right organizations in identifying priorities is extremely valuable. I hope that the open dialogue we had today will enable us to jointly identify further steps in police reform," he said. "It is also necessary to continue the co-operation between the Interior Ministry and civil society, using the established mechanisms for civil oversight of the police."

Human right defenders expressed their views about the police reform programme, and while acknowledging its necessity, expressed their criticism with respect to human rights. They proposed recommendations aimed at achieving positive results and actively involving civil society in the development of criteria for the programme evaluation.

"The reform programme is undoubtedly necessary and useful for our state. Human rights defenders have no intention of breaking it and building it anew. We only want a special emphasis on the protection of citizens’ interests in police work, rather than protection of the state, taking into account civil and human rights and freedoms, which are moreover reflected in the programme goals. However, for the programme to be more effective and to foster greater trust among the population, transparency and accountability are necessary, as is the active participation of NGOs who come into contact with the work of law enforcement bodies every day," said Dinara Oshurakunova, the head of the non-governmental organization the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society.

Representatives of human right organizations, legal clinics, independent lawyers from civil society, organizations implementing training courses for police and representatives of international organizations on human rights along with representatives of the Interior Ministry and the OSCE Centre took part at the meeting.

Representatives of public unions who work on OSCE projects also shared the positive results and achievements achieved with the OSCE. Positive feedback was received for the "Neighborhood Watch" programme implemented in some districts of the city.

The OSCE Centre underlined its willingness for further dialogue on implementing the police reform programme with the civil society.