OSCE organizes meeting to strengthen co-operation between civil society and governments in Central Asia

ALMATY, 16 November 2010 - Government officials, parliamentarians, Ombudspersons and civil society representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan started a meeting in Almaty today to find ways to improve co-operation between governments and non-governmental organizations.

The two-day meeting is organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, a US-based research organization, with the support of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

Participants will discuss how to enhance dialogue and interaction between government and civil society. Discussions will focus on allowing greater access to information about governmental decisions and policy implementation, and introducing laws requiring public hearings on proposed legislation. Giving formal legal status to public councils and other consultative bodies will also be on the agenda, as will strengthening mechanisms for financial support of NGOs and the establishment of governmental bodies designed to improve co-operation between governments and civil society.

"Non-governmental organizations have a vital role to play in the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, but to do so, they need an enabling environment with adequate legal and financial frameworks," said Snjezana Bokulic, Head of ODIHR's Human Rights Department.

Jeannette Kloetzer, Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, added that the meeting aimed "to promote dialogue and co-operation between government agencies, parliament, non-governmental organizations and international partners. It is only through joint efforts that the Organization's goals and principles can be put into practice."

Ambassador-at-large Madina Jarbussynova welcomed the meeting participants on behalf of Kazakhstan, which holds the 2010 OSCE Chairmanship.

All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to seek ways of strengthening dialogue and co-operation between NGOs and national authorities in developing national policy and programmes.

But in practice, significant restrictions on the freedom of association remain in place in many OSCE participating States and international standards are not fully respected. Some countries have tightened state control over civil society institutions, subjected associations receiving foreign to pressure and introduced excessive administrative rules that restrain the right to create associations and non-governmental organizations.