Kazakh Gov't, UN, NGOs review implementation of civil, political rights
Representatives of international organisations, NGOs, and relevant state bodies, as well as members of Parliament took part in the round table discussions, the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reports.
The attendees reviewed a draft Action Plan of the government of Kazakhstan on implementing the recommendations of the UPR, including the feedback received from non-governmental organisations.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism the UN Human Rights Council uses to review situation with human rights in UN member states once every four years. As described by the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Ekaterina Paniklova, the UPR measures were held in Kazakhstan for the first time in February 2010.
During these measures, representatives of UN member states studied the human rights situation in the country and presented 128 recommendations across the entire spectrum of human rights, of which Kazakhstan has accepted 121 recommendations. Progress on implementation of these 121 recommendations will be evaluated by the UN Human Rights Council during the second round of the UPR in Kazakhstan in 2014, the press release by the Ministry of Justice stated.
According to best practices, the government of Kazakhstan has developed a draft Action Plan to implement the UPR recommendations, which was widely and extensively discussed with the participation of civil society in the framework of regional round tables held in March this year. In connection with this, Ekaterina Paniklova noted the high level of constructive regional cooperation.
After its final adoption, the Action Plan will become a document that will help government bodies to ensure full and timely implementation of all recommendations adopted by the UPR. The implementation of UPR recommendations is the most important stage of the whole UPR process, since it leads to achieving the main objective of the review, which is improving the human rights situation in the country, press release stated.
Open discussion of the draft Action Plan will enhance the efficiency of mechanisms to monitor progress in implementing the UPR recommendations, which are now under development, and will prove Kazakhstan's interest in promoting and enforcing human rights.
Ambassador at Large of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Madina Jarbussynova stressed that since gaining its independence Kazakhstan, in cooperation with international institutions and NGOs, works consistently towards the implementation of fundamental human rights and freedoms and intends to continue the democratisation process.
In addition to reviewing the status of the implementation of the UPR recommendations in Kazakhstan, the round table attendees looked at country's advancement in preparing its first report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is one of the most important pacts on human rights adopted by the UN. Kazakhstan ratified this international treaty in 2005. Each state participating in the covenant has to submit periodic reports on measures that are undertaken in order to enforce the rights recognised in the covenant and on the progress achieved in the use of these rights. Kazakhstan will present its first report to the UN Committee on Human Rights in July this year.
According to standard practice, along with the official government report, non-governmental organisations prepare their own alternative report on the status of implementation of civil and political rights in Kazakhstan, which will also be considered by the UN Committee on Human Rights when studying the country report.
Holding consultations with civil associations on implementation of the covenant provides an opportunity for the state to take into account the opinion of independent experts and outline steps for bringing national legislation and law enforcement practice into accordance with the requirements of the covenant long before the Committee adopts its final recommendations as a result of reviewing the national report.
The discussion of the report before its defence has contributed to a better understanding of the problems and deficiencies that hamper the progressive implementation of the covenant objectives in Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Justice.
All documents pertaining to the UPR are available on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR): http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/KZSession7.aspx
Documents relating to the upcoming defence of Kazakhstan's first report on implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights can be found at the link: http://tb.ohchr.org/default.aspx?country=kz