OSCE Centre supports international Ombudspersons conference
CHOLPON-ATA, Kyrgyzstan, 16 July 2009 - An international human rights conference that opened today in north-eastern Kyrgyzstan with support from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek gathered Ombudspersons from more than 10 countries to discuss how human rights can be protected.
The three-day International Issyk-Kul Forum on Human Rights was organized by the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic together with the Presidential Administration, the Kyrgyz government, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the UN Development Programme.
Participants will discuss human rights protection during political crises, international practices to prevent torture and how to promote a human rights-based approach in the work of government agencies, including the Ombudsman's Office.
The Ombudsmen from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Slovenia and Ukraine are participating in the meeting, as are Kyrgyz parliamentarians, officials, journalists and representatives of civil society and international organizations.
Opening the event, Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Igor Chudinov said: "The Kyrgyz Republic has identified human rights to be of crucial importance for its democratic development. The Kyrgyz Constitution devotes 28 articles out of 98 to developing human rights and freedoms in the country. Freedom of individuals is a sacrosanct and undeviating asset in the founding Kyrgyz document."
Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said the OSCE supported the Office of the Ombudsman because they advocate and champion human rights and social justice.
"Ombudspersons function as independent and trusted intermediaries between citizens and authorities," he said. "The Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic is a shining example, having taken a proactive role in issues such as freedom of assembly, the prevention of torture, domestic violence and social and ethnic discrimination."
Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbek Akyn said conference participants would discuss how Ombudspersons could contribute to the protection of migrants' rights.
The participants of the Forum are expected to draft and issue a final declaration.