The Central Eurasia Project aims to promote human rights and social progress in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia.  In addition to regional initiatives, the project works to increase openness in the closed societies of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which do not have formal Soros foundations or offices.

The project develops programs and international campaigns that use policy research and advocacy to shape debates on significant economic, political, social, and security challenges facing the region. Through its grantmaking and operational activities, the project supports local NGOs pursuing dialogue with governments on issues such as human and labor rights, export and energy revenue, and budget transparency.

Recent Central Eurasia Project activities have sought to combat declining media freedom through diplomatic efforts and assistance programs that promote reform; challenge growing repression against human rights and democracy activists in Central Asia and South Caucasus; push for greater tolerance of religious freedom; and create approaches for dealing with non-traditional and often nonsecular civil society groups. 

Ongoing initiatives focus on partnering with human rights groups to protect the rights of labor migrants and promoting approaches that stress the mutual dependence between Russia and the region created by the use of migrant labor. In cooperation with local civil society groups, the project has helped improve the transparency, accountability, and management of natural resource revenues and the electric power sector.

The project has responded to natural disasters and to military conflict in places such as Georgia by working to galvanize international responses, support credible media coverage, protect human rights, provide humanitarian aid, and ensure transparency in the use of relief funds. Working with European donors, the project continues to strengthen relations between the European Union and Central Asian countries by supporting initiatives that bring local and international scholars and experts together to provide EU institutions with policy ideas and advice about Central Asia.

The Central Eurasia Project uses grantmaking to international and regional NGOs, academic institutions, think tanks and other structures to help build local capacity, to bring international expertise to bear on the region, and to promote cooperation between local activists and international civic movements in the fields of human rights, labor migration, electricity and hydropower governance, and social and economic rights. The ultimate goal of such activity is to strengthen civic leaders in the region and construct support networks for them within international structures and movements.

For more information, see the CEP grant focus areas and guidelines.