Criminal justice in Central Asia focus of biennial forum in Astana

Over 100 criminal justice experts and representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as from international organizations met in Astana from 20 to 21 November 2024 for the Ninth Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan.

“All OSCE states have committed to building effective criminal justice systems based on the rule of law,” said ODIHR Director’s Alternate and First Deputy Director Tea Jaliashvili. “Through fair and effective criminal justice systems, countries improve human rights protection and increase security both at home and across the entire region.”

Organized in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Legal Policy and Research Center (LPRC), and Dignity Kazakhstan, and supported by the OSCE Programme Offices in Astana, Bishkek and Dushanbe, the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, the event enabled an in-depth assessment of new developments in the criminal justice system.

Participants focused on recent trends and ongoing reforms, changes to criminal procedure in Central Asia, and their impact specifically on the right to a fair trial and on criminal justice systems overall. Topics along the entire criminal justice chain were discussed, from arrest, through investigation and interrogation and the digitalization process in the area of criminal justice, to court proceedings and alternatives to imprisonment. 

While there have been a number of positive developments in the field of criminal justice in Central Asia in recent years, restrictions on fundamental rights have undermined reform efforts. The lack of guarantees to ensure the independence of judiciary and fair trial right remains among the main challenges to the effective functioning of criminal justice systems in the region.

The Forum has been organized by ODIHR since 2008, and takes place every two years. The last forum took place in Tashkent in 2021.