Kazakhstan (Freedom House says OSCE should deny Kazakh chairmanshipbid)

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30 November 2006 15:36

IFEX Autolist - Kazakhstan (Freedom House says OSCE should deny

Kazakh chairmanship bid)

 

IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)

Freedom House (FH), abrams (AT) freedomhouse (DOT) org

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Amanda Abrams, 202-747-7035

 

OSCE Should Deny Kazakh Chairmanship Bid

 

Washington, D.C., and Budapest, Hungary -- The Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should reject Kazakhstan's bid to chair the

institution in 2009, Freedom House said today. Kazakhstan has consistently

rated among the poorest performers in Freedom House analysis in virtually

every institutional respect.

 

The OSCE's executive decision making body, the Ministerial Council, is

scheduled to take up the Kazakh candidacy at a meeting in Vienna on December

4 and 5. Given the Kazakh government's poor record on democracy and flouting

of fundamental obligations both within and outside of the OSCE context,

Freedom House believes it would be inappropriate for the OSCE to award

Astana the chairmanship at this time.

 

"Kazakhstan is simply not ready to chair an organization that represents

European democratic ideals," said Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of

Freedom House. "The Kazakh case is not that of one or two isolated areas of

democratic shortcomings; rather, the government systemically underperforms

across all of the sectors that are indispensable building blocks for

democratic systems, including press freedom, judicial independence, and the

election process," she added.

 

In the country's most recent presidential election in December 2005, the

OSCE itself deemed the Kazakh government's performance to be highly

inadequate. Election results showed President Nursultan Nazarbayev to have

garnered 91 percent of the vote. As the OSCE's International Election

Observation Mission wrote then, "Despite some improvements in the

administration of this election in the pre-election period, the presidential

election did not meet a number of OSCE commitments and other international

standards for democratic elections." The poor evaluation of the election was

consistent with previous reports.

 

In 2006, Freedom House's annual survey, Freedom in the World, gave

Kazakhstan a 6 for political rights and a 5 for civil liberties (out of a

lowest 7), ranking the country Not Free. The report pointed out that the

media is not free: the government has repeatedly harassed or shut down many

independent media outlets, and the country's criminal code prohibits

insulting the honor and dignity of the president. Additionally, the

judiciary's independence is significantly constrained by the Constitution,

and corruption is evident throughout the judicial system.

 

This systematic denial of democratic rights argues against granting

Kazakhstan the leadership of the OSCE, which continues to play an

indispensable role in promoting security and democratic values in Europe and

Eurasia.

 

Freedom House, an independent non-governmental organization that supports

the expansion of freedom in the world, has monitored political rights and

civil liberties in Kazakhstan since 1991.

 

More information on Kazakhstan can be found at:

 

Freedom in the World 2006: Kazakhstan

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2006&country=6990

 

Nations in Transit 2006: Kazakhstan

http://www.freedomhouse.hu/pdfdocs/kazakhstan2006.pdf

 

Freedom of the Press 2006

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2006

 

Countries at the Crossroads 2006: Kazakhstan

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=140&edition=7&ccrpage=31&ccrco

untry=119

 

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility

of FH**

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