A/HRC/46/57/Add.1 106. The Special Rapporteur suggests that the existing efforts of the Government of Kyrgyzstan to ensure the effective participation and representation of minorities in public life must be strengthened, including in relation to the operation of quotas in the country’s Parliament. To address the apparently increasingly low levels of employment of minorities in the civil service of the country, including in the police and the judiciary, affirmative action programmes should be in place to increase the hiring of minorities to more closely reflect their proportion in the population. In regions where minorities are concentrated, public services, such as social services, health care and education, should be guaranteed in the prevalent minority language, with knowledge of the local languages being an employment requirement for an appropriate proportion of civil service personnel. 107. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to review the law on rights of and guarantees for persons with disabilities, or adopt new legislation, to recognize sign language as a fully fledged language and guarantee access to public services and the use of sign languages in areas such as education and health care. He recommends stronger government planning and support, including adequate public funding and State involvement in the provision of sign language services, as well as the development and implementation of training programmes for sign language interpreters. A first national plan for the use of and teaching in sign language in education is also strongly urged for 2022. 108. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that despite the overall commendable efforts made by Kyrgyzstan to protect the rights of religious minorities, registration and other administrative or financial requirements for smaller religious groups is too burdensome and must be reviewed. Continued difficulties with burials must also be addressed. 109. The Special Rapporteur strongly recommends that the Government adopt a national plan for citizenship and inclusion to recognize and celebrate one of its great strengths – its diversity – in order to tackle growing stereotyping, ethnic profiling, and stigmatization of minorities, as well as the rise of hate speech against them. This should include a review of negative stereotyping of minorities in educational and other official materials. 110. The Special Rapporteur agrees with his colleagues on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and reiterates that Kyrgyzstan must take effective measures to ensure that civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists, including those working on the rights of minorities, are able to carry out their work effectively and without fear of reprisals. 111. The Special Rapporteur congratulates the Government once again for its willingness to engage in dialogue, cooperation and action to address issues and improve practices and policies involving the human rights of minorities. He hopes that his report will support the Government in that process and expresses his willingness and availability to assist in this important endeavour. 18