OSCE promotes public discussion on media legislation in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 25 February 2008 - Media legislation reform in Kazakhstan was the topic of a roundtable today organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana and Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The event, supported by the Culture and Information Ministry and leading media non-governmental organizations, brought together parliament deputies, government officials, representatives of the non-governmental sector, media lawyers, journalists and experts involved with media legislation. Participants discussed the latest draft amendments and changes to legislative acts related to media, including the issues of libel and defamation in Kazakhstan.

"The position of the Government on further liberalization of the information sphere fully corresponds to the statement made by the Foreign Minister, Marat Tazhin, during the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid," said Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, Culture and Information Minister. "In 2008, we will be focusing on media legislation to reach compliance with international standards. In this regard, we will actively cooperate with OSCE, representatives of civil society, and media."

"I welcomed Minister Yertysbayev's plan presented to the Permanent Council in July 2007 envisaging, among other things, decriminalization, demonopolization of the media, and the protection of journalists' confidential sources. I hope that the reform will continue involving all the stakeholders," the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, said in a message from Vienna.

The roundtable followed similar events organized by the Centre to promote media reform in Kazakhstan, and support the development of Kazakhstani legislation in line with international standards. Legal analyses were commissioned by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and can be downloaded at: www.osce.org/fom