Kazakhstan: President instructed to develop a plan of actions in the field of human rights
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the government to develop a plan of priority measures in the field of human rights.
According to the Presidential decree signed the other day, the government of the country should develop a plan to improve the mechanisms of interaction with the UN treaty bodies and special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, ensure the rights of victims of trafficking in people, human rights in relation to citizens with disabilities, elimination of discrimination against women, the right to freedom of association, the right to freedom of expression, the human right to life and public order, increasing the effectiveness of interaction with non-governmental organizations, human rights in the field of criminal justice, enforcement and prevention of torture and cruel treatment.
In addition, Tokayev demanded that the government report annually to the Presidential administration on the progress in implementing the action plan. Control over the execution of the decree is entrusted to the Presidential administration.
It’s noteworthy that literally on the same day, on the website of the Open normative legal acts, the Ministry of Justice published a list of planned activities aimed at implementing the Plan. The public of Kazakhstan was given a deadline until June 22 to get acquainted and discuss the proposed initiatives. However, a few hours later, the Human Rights Priority Action Plan was removed from the website of the Open NLA.
We managed to find traces of it on the website of the Kazakhstan’s media “Exclusive”, whose journalists managed to get acquainted with the Plan.
Based on their data, it’s planned that the following will be done in Kazakhstan:
– the list of jobs, on which the employment of women is restricted, has been excluded;
– the investigation of torture will be carried out in accordance with the UN Istanbul Protocol;
– the registration of religious associations has been simplified;
– working out the “decriminalization” of the criminal article “Insult”;
– a postponement of punishment has been introduced for seriously ill patients;
– continuous video surveillance will be introduced in correctional institutions; video control will be assigned to the Prosecutor’s Office;
– institutions of emergency security (colonies of special regime) will be abolished; etc.
However, given the fact that the original plan was urgently removed from the site of the Open NLA, it’s likely that a completely different document will subsequently be presented for public discussion, in which there will be no such rampant democracy and the triumph of human rights freedom.
“If the President’s instructions are not sabotaged again, video surveillance of prisoners will be connected to the Prosecutor’s Office by the end of 2022,” human rights activist, head of the non-governmental organization “Ar.Rukh.Khak” Bakhytzhan Toregozhina commented on the news about the Presidential decree.
She also addressed to the President’s assistant Erlan Karin with a proposal not to engage in issuing dubious decrees, allegedly indicating concern about the situation with human rights, but to join the European Union for Human Rights.
“And automatically, we, citizens, will have access to the EUHR, the execution of decisions of which is binding on the state. Of course, this is not a panacea, but I think that the situation with human rights in the country will begin to move,” Toregozhina believes.
“At one time, Nazarbayev also issued correct decrees in this area, and Kazakhstan signed a number of international agreements, including the Pact on political rights, pledging to strictly implement them. However, they were not executed! For example, the obligation to conduct fair elections. Can you name at least one election in Kazakhstan recognized by the OSCE ODIHR? There were no such elections. Or, for example, a commitment to refrain from torture. It’s also a lie. And what about freedom of speech, when opposition media outlets were illegally closed and dozens and dozens of people were condemned for freedom of expression? Therefore, Kazakhstan has always been in the lowest positions in international ratings… And so it can be continued for all the requirements of human rights observance. They are stupidly not observed in Kazakhstan,” the well-known opposition journalist Gulzhan Yergalieva doesn’t hide her skepticism.
She is sure that no one in the government will carry out anything from Tokayev’s decree.
“Under Nazarbayev, they told tall tales to the people; and under Tokayev, they will continue to do it. Tokayev must first either completely reform the composition and system of the government, or resign himself, so as not to repeat the deception of his predecessor. So, again, we see a beautiful fairy tale on paper and a formal plus from the curators from Washington. And that’s all,” the journalist sums up.
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