Kazakhstan Working on Human Rights Shortcomings, Speaker Says

Kazakhstan is aware of criticism that it is not paying enough attention to human rights in the central Asian country and is working to improve conditions, an advisor to the Kazakh president said at an Oct. 29 Newsmaker press conference.

Yermukhamet Yertsybayev said laws making libel no longer a criminal act were passed specifically with the media in mind.

Kazakhstan is the current president of the Office of Security and Cooperation in Europe, the first former Soviet republic to hold that position. OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization with 56 member countries. Its human rights activities focus on freedom of movement and religion, and prevention of torture and trafficking in persons.

Yertsybayev said he is urging President Nursultan Nazarbayev that in its current role as OSCE president, Kazakhstan should pay close attention to all the organization's responsibilities, but with special focus on human rights.

He also said his country has close ties with Russia and that Presidents Nazarbayev and Medvedev meet several times a year. One of their major common concerns is combatting terrorism, he said. Yertsybayev said Kazakhstan has a strong market economy and is the only country in the region with no conflict with its neighbors.

-- Peter Hickman, [email protected]