Kazakhstan towards definitive abolition

March 28, 2011: Kazakhstan took another step towards the abolition of the death penalty. The Presidential Commission for Human Rights in Astana asked the government to abolish capital punishment, press agency Interfax reported.

Commission head Tastemir Abishev, in announcing the request for abolition, reminded that Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbaiev imposed an unlimited moratorium on the death penalty from 2003 onwards and that Astana is an active member of the International Commission for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

Since 2007, after a constititional modification, the death penalty in Kazakistan is only allowed for those who commit terrorist attacks that cause death and for serious war crimes.

Source: TMNews, March 28, 2011

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OSCE Summit To Be Held In Kazakhstan

By ETHAN Markoff

KAZAKHSTAN NEWS - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is about to be hosted by Kazakhstan where world political leaders and top diplomats are said to participate.

The important discussion in Astana are believed to emphasis on Afghanistan, international drug trafficking and global terrorism. However, some human rights activists have denounced the meeting, lamenting Kazakhstan's poor record on democracy and rights make it unsuitable for any such global discussions.

Analysts and critics say the country is itself far cry from democracy and discussing some important topics is farce and will be reduced to just talking shop. They further say that it's just a diplomatic approach of oil-rich country to boost its image overseas.

This is the most important and biggest international ever ever to be held on Kazakh soil.

It is reported that heads and top level diplomats of 56 European and former Soviet states are going to participate in the event. It is the first such summit in a decade - comes in the middle of Wikileaks controversy.

Some of the primary agenda of the meeting is regional security, cold wars and ongoing war in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan has been criticized thoroughly for its poor human right record and undemocratic political system.

The government had promised to take measures to improve the political and social scenario when it was awarded the chairmanship in 2007. But the human right campaigners are apprehensive about the country's leadership. They are also feared that amid continuous Wikileaks controversy, any residual concerns about Kazakhstan's human right record are likely to plunge deep under the most serious global issues.

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