NUR-SULTAN – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, chaired by Roving Ambassador Usen Suleimen, hosted an online meeting of an advisory body dubbed the Human Dimension Dialogue Platform.
In addition to the Kazakh authorities and representatives of civil society, the heads of the United Nations United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)the European Union, USAID and the embassies of several European countries participated in the event.
In his welcome speech, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko noted that the beginning of 2022 was marked by unprecedented tragic events in Kazakhstan. “Members of the advisory and consultative body came together to share their vision of what happened, to understand how state bodies and the civil sector can jointly contribute to resolving the current situation,” a- he declared.
According to Vassilenko, the Kazakh government continues to strongly condemn any possible case of disproportionate use of force, illegal detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Citizens’ rights to a fair trial must also be respected.
Credit: Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs
As human rights activists have pointed out, these events revealed many shortcomings in the practice of law enforcement in the area of protection of human rights and freedoms.
They also offered a series of recommendations change laws and various regulatory legal acts.
Representatives of the Ministry of Information and Social Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented their reports. The second agenda was devoted to the preparation of the presentation of the national report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) presented an overview and analysis of possible directions for the further development of anti-discrimination legislation and the establishment of institutions and anti-discrimination procedures in the country.
Concluding the meeting, members of the body called for greater interaction between government agencies and NGOs on these issues.
