Kyrgyz Republic hosts international conference on forensic science services

Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyz Republic. August 2014. On 25 August 2014, a one-day International Conference on improving the quality of forensic services was organized on the initiative of the State Forensics Centre under the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic (SFC KR) within the framework of the UNODC Criminal Justice Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The primary aim of the conference was to share best international practices in order to provide better forensic services to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan. In his address to the conference, Mr. Kutmanov Nurbolot Osmonovich, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, said: "We receive numerous complaints from the judiciary, law enforcement bodies, citizens and legal persons regarding untimely execution of expert examinations that directly violates citizens' rights to timely access to justice".

During the conference, forensic experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia and USA exchanged experiences on quality assurance and harmonization of forensic services, national accreditation systems for forensic science laboratories and new trends in forensics and international cooperation.

UNODC supports national efforts to strengthen the capacity of the SFC within the framework of its 2014-2016 Integrated Country Programme for the Kyrgyz Republic. The main objective of UNODC's support is to improve and support implementation of the country's legislation in the field of forensic services, to enhance forensic experts' skills and knowledge, to strengthen cooperation between the SFC and law enforcement and judicial bodies, and to improve its infrastructure, including the construction of a completely new laboratory for the SFC. This programme is implemented with generous support of the Government of the United States of America, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).