OSCE supports National Preventive Mechanism against Torture in Kazakhstan
The first OSCE-supported forum on Kazakhstan’s National Preventive Mechanism against Torture (NPM), focused on national and international experience in this field, concluded on 17 May 2017 in Astana.
The two-day event brought together some 100 high-level government officials, parliamentarians, representatives of national human rights institutions, a member of the UN Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture, local and international legal experts, as well as NPM participants from across the country.
Participants discussed a wide range of practical aspects of the NPM’s functioning in Kazakhstan, such as the development of a legislative framework in the light of international standards, challenges in providing public oversight at detention facilities, the establishment of constructive co-operation between the state authorities and preventive bodies, and the implementation of relevant recommendations on eradicating torture.
Experts from Georgia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom shared their experiences and best practices in conducting preventive visits in the Council of Europe countries and analysing their effectiveness. The consolidated report on the results of preventive visits conducted in Kazakhstan by NPM participants in 2016 was also presented at the Forum.
“Initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of the NPM at various levels, as well as supporting the dialogue between civil society and state authorities on its development are always welcome,” said the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, György Szabó. “Such discussions should become an integral part of the work of the preventive measures against torture in Kazakhstan.”
Kazakhstan’s Ombudsman Askar Shakirov said that the NPM in Kazakhstan operates within the framework of a strategic partnership with state bodies and is composed exclusively of civil society representatives. “It’s independent of all branches of government and interference in the activities of NPM participants is prohibited by law.”
The two-day event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in partnership with the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Kazakhstan and the Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, with support from the Penal Reform International Office in Central Asia and the European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme on improving the justice system in Kazakhstan.
It was dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and was part of the Programme Office’s long-term efforts to support the NPM in the host country.