Secretary of State — Foreign Minister appointed
On 4 September 2009, Kanat Saudabayev was appointed Secretary of State — Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Mr.Saudabayev was previously Secretary of State, Ambassador to the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey.
The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, noted Mr. Saudabayev’s experience and service, both public and diplomatic, as well as his credibility at home and abroad. As Secretary of State — Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Saudabayev assumes responsibility for spearheading Kazakhstan's preparations for and holding of the Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2010.
On making the official appointment, President Nazarbayev praised the work of the previous Foreign Minister, Marat Tazhin, who has been appointed Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan (please, see the biography of Mr.Saudabayev here).
National Human Rights Action Plan presented
National Human Rights Action Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2009-2012 was presented in Astana on 9 September 2009.
Speaking at the presentation, Kanat Saudabayev, Secretary of State - Minister for Foreign Affairs, said that Kazakhstan would continue to liberalize its national laws in accordance with the requirements of its developing society.
Mr.Saudabayev noted that appropriate amendments and additions had recently been made to the laws on elections, political parties and the media. The promotion and protection of human rights cannot be achieved without taking international experience into account, and in many respects it was this that prompted Kazakhstan’s decision to accede to the relevant United Nations human rights conventions and treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Kazakh Government is considering the possible ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first international treaty in the twenty-first century to deal with human rights.
In the words of the Secretary of State, “at the present stage in political developments in Kazakhstan, the necessary conditions exist as never before for further improvements in this area. For our country, developing as it is as a secular and democratic State based on the rule of law, this statement is not a simple tribute to legal traditions. It is a firm tenet and an absolute condition for the further progress of the country”.
Thanks to a consistent commitment to a choice based on the rule of law and the effective protection of human rights, in Kazakhstan, with its many religions, peace and harmony are being preserved at the same time that steady economic and social development is being achieved and the geographical outreach of our foreign policy is being expanded.
The Minister stressed that the creation of conditions to enable our citizens to enjoy a high standard of living is a primary concern of the State as it seeks to ensure human rights. That is why the Kazakh Government views an effective socio economic policy as one of the country’s top priorities in protecting the rights of its citizens. A clear sign that fundamental human rights are being observed in Kazakhstan is the fact that tens of thousands of foreigners are every year seeking to become citizens of the country.
The National Action Plan examines the laws and their practical implementation, analysing them for conformity with international human rights standards. The Plan also identifies the basic aspects of Kazakhstan’s domestic and foreign policy with respect to human rights.
State agencies and non governmental and international organization were involved in the preparation and publication of the National Human Rights Action Plan. Particular mention has been made of the contributions to this Plan by the United Nations Development Programme, the embassies of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in Kazakhstan, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Commission and the OSCE Centre in Astana.
Kazakhstan, Estonia deepen economic ties
On 8 September, Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, accompanied by a business delegation visited Kazakhstan. This distinguished Estonian guest met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Massimov. Astana also hosted the Kazakhstan-Estonia business forum involving the heads of government of the two countries.
“Major opportunities are opening up for Estonian enterprises for the investment of capital and know how in promoting trade with Kazakhstan and developing our country’s economy”, Prime Minister Massimov said when opening the business forum. In response, Andrus Ansip noted that: “Estonians have begun to invest more in other countries, and I think they believe it necessary to invest in Kazakhstan as well”.
During the visit, documents were signed on co operation in the areas of the economy, education and science along with agreements to exempt diplomatic passport holders from visa requirements.
It was noted that the most promising areas of Kazakh-Estonian co-operation were energy, information and telecommunications technology, construction industry, wood processing industry and logistical services. There is also a great potential for co-operation between Kazakhstan and Estonia in the agricultural sector.
At the picture: Prime Ministers Andrus Ansip of Estonia and Karim Massimov of Kazakhstan during the meeting in Astana
Government sets priorities in the legal sphere
Kazakhstan has adopted a Legal Policy Concept for the period 2010 to 2020. This is a programmatic document outlining the main priorities in the State’s legal policy for the next decade.
The Concept sets out the main areas for improvement in the national legal system on the basis of current trends in that system’s development, experience gained at home and abroad, and scientifically sound thinking regarding the prospects for the development of the Kazakh State and law. All this will provide a basis for the improvement of the various branches of the law and for the enactment of a new generation of Kazakh legislation as the legal foundation for the further modernization of the county.
The Concept identifies the outlook for the development of the law enforcement and judicial systems in keeping with the aim of building in Kazakhstan a powerful State based on the rule of law and of ensuring the reliable protection of human and civil rights and freedoms.
The Concept affirms the need for the broad and constant involvement of representatives of society, NGOs and private entrepreneurship in lawmaking activities.
The global financial crisis has shown how important it is for governments not to distance themselves from economic processes and to have at their disposal effective levers for regulating the national economy. The improvement of the various branches of law concerned with this kind of regulation has therefore taken on particular significance. Among these branches there is also administrative law, which provides the legal foundations for administrative reform.
The Concept is based on the assumption of a rational and clear distribution of areas of competence between government agencies and a setting of limits for regulatory intervention by the State, including the avoidance – under market economy conditions – of excessive regulation by the State and the ensuring of effective interaction between government agencies and citizens and organizations.
The Concept also charts the directions to be taken in moving forward in such areas of legislation of importance to the regulation of the economy as tax laws and customs laws, which are in turn offshoots of administrative law.
For the first time in this Concept there is a discussion of the development of administrative procedural law, which is closely linked to issues surrounding the administration of justice in administrative cases and, consequently, with the protection of civil rights and liberties before the courts.
One particular feature of administrative procedural law is the fact that it will ensure the creation of a system of administrative justice, i.e., citizens will be able to contest their rights before the lower courts without “bombarding” higher levels of the justice system with their complaints, so that in this way administrative justice will ensure a higher degree of protection for the rights and freedoms of these same citizens.
The Concept identifies a whole range of measures for developing the institutions of civil law and for enhancing their effectiveness as the principal legal regulator of market relations.
The Concept sets important tasks as regards the development of civil procedural law, whose purpose is to ensure access to justice, maximum enjoyment by the participants in civil legal proceedings of their rights, timely protection of personal rights and freedoms and their restoration where they have been violated, the safeguarding of the interests of society and the State, and also a reduction of the opportunities for legal conflicts and the prevention of such conflicts.
In the penal sphere, the Concept identifies as the principal area for improvement measures to prevent an increase in the “prison population”, to minimize the involvement of citizens in the criminal justice apparatus, and to put into place conditions for the broader application of criminal law sanctions that do not entail the offender’s isolation from society. On the other hand, it is important to ensure reliable security and proper control at prison system institutions.
On the whole, the Concept sets the law enforcement authorities the task of improving the effectiveness of their work by responding quickly and appropriately to the manifestations of crime and by preventing offences from occurring, by stepping up the measures taken to combat corruption and by ensuring safe conditions for businesses through the prevention of unjustified interference in their activities.
The specialization of courts and judges, including the establishment of juvenile courts, the creation of specialized criminal courts and, in the future, of tax and other specialized courts, is seen as the main area where the judicial system should be improved.
Astana hosts international anti-corruption forum
On 16 September representatives from 60 countries and 20 international organizations came together in Astana to take part in the international conference “Creating Conditions for Sustainable Economic and Social Development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Fighting Corruption and Promoting Good Governance”.
This event was organized by the Kazakh Agency for Combating Economic and Corruption Crime together with the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD).
In 1998 an Anti Corruption Network was set up under the auspices of the OECD for countries with transition economies. This network brings together 23 member countries from Central, South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, its objective being to assist member countries in implementing reforms as they combat corruption.
Addressing the conference participants, the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that this was the first time that such a representative forum had been held in the country. This signalled our country’s determination to be at the forefront of the efforts to combat the global threat posed by corruption.
Kazakhstan was the first country from the Commonwealth of Independent States to adopt a special law on combating corruption. A life time ban has been introduced on any persons dismissed for corruption related offences, prohibiting them from holding public office. A State counter corruption programme for the period up until 2011 is under way.
Kazakhstan’s counter corruption policy takes into account international standards and is based on documents adopted by the international community. In May of last year the country ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The participants in the forum adopted the Astana Declaration on Good Governance and Fighting Corruption, in which they reaffirmed that the fight against corruption would be one of their main priorities and that they would co operate with the international community to ensure that any cases involving this offence would be prosecuted.
The promise of emerging democracies
Future ensured by cooperation rather than nuclear arms (article by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, “The Washington Times”, 8 September, 2009)
The world is remaking itself. Amid pressing economic challenges and multinational security concerns, new alliances are forming. Global commerce along with governments are bringing down borders, opening relationships and creating opportunity. Kazakhstan, like most emerging democracies, is cautiously optimistic, with a pragmatism steeped in the hard lessons of history. Policies have consequences; alliances can liberate as well as captivate. With the stroke of a pen, superpower leaders like Presidents Obama and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia can reverse a decade of tepid relations to put forces and agendas into motion that affect all of us.
Nowhere in the world is the influence more keenly felt than in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, positioned as we are between Russia, China, Iran and Afghanistan. Here, a breeze in global diplomacy among nations like Russia, the United States and China can have the impact of a blinding windstorm, leaving us to wonder about our role and influence within these relationships.
Bellicose nations rattle sabers to garner attention and receive a concession here and there; certainly, their tactics make the nightly news. Others push America and Western democracies to the brink before backing off and waiting for another strategic push in their quest for a place among nuclear nations. Emerging democracies like Kazakhstan, on the other hand, while not the focus of media attention, have a responsibility and role to play on the global stage that is far more consequential to the welfare of freedom-loving nations.
The objective of Mr. Obama and Mr. Medvedev to cut their nuclear arsenals by a third is indicative of that role. The current size of those arsenals was influenced greatly by a decision our nascent democracy made 18 years ago to permanently shut down the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, which set the stage for a decision to safely dispose of 104 SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles we had inherited from the Soviet Union, each tipped with 10 nuclear warheads. To put this in perspective, North Korea, which the world cautiously watches, is believed to have enough plutonium for only a half-dozen atomic bombs.
Keeping the weapons could have made Kazakhstan a larger player in our potentially volatile region, and surely the world would be more aware of us today. There were some who encouraged us to keep the arsenal. But larger considerations, including the role and responsibility of emerging democracies like ours, weighed heavily in the decision. Our focus was on building a new economic and political model in Kazakhstan, and we had a firm belief that our future and welfare rested on commercial and security relationships in the West.
Our desire was to engage in what I like to call cooperative leadership, pragmatic and constructive engagement with the myriad and often complex forces in our region. This was the philosophy that prompted us to dismantle our arsenal and pursue relations not only with the United States, but with Russia, China, Iran and, in fact, all nations that see opportunity in Kazakhstan.
On Aug. 29, we celebrated the anniversary of our decision, and the philosophy of cooperative leadership that inspired it continues to benefit Kazakhstan and our relationships throughout the world. A dedication to democratic values, the rule of law, transparency, tolerance and open trade has led to stability and a strong, well-educated middle class. This increasingly firm foundation at home enables us to play an important role among nations abroad, providing strategic engagement and opportunities for cooperation among countries that often may be overlooked, as well as among those who may not be inclined to work together otherwise.
Sharing common values of freedom and peaceful development, democracies firmly support each other. That is why since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that shocked the entirety of mankind, Kazakhstan has stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against international terrorism and today provides much-needed assistance for the stabilization of Afghanistan.
As an emerging democracy practicing cooperative leadership, Kazakhstan is able to encourage dialogue even among adversaries. Our recently concluded third annual Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is only one example, with spiritual leaders attending from almost every faith and nation to promote tolerance and understanding. Likewise, our quest to establish an international nuclear fuel bank to be governed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which would allow nations like Iran and others to openly and honestly pursue their energy agendas, finds support among leaders in the United States, Russia and China. Recently, Israeli President Shimon Peres proposed Kazakhstan as the site for a historic meeting with key leaders from his country, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world.
This is how emerging democracies can make a difference. In the absence of the entrenched and sometimes dogmatic divisions of the past, young entrants on the global stage of freedom can offer an environment for pragmatic solutions. Mr. Obama understands this. Two weeks after his election, he called to discuss regional cooperation, nonproliferation measures and energy cooperation. At that time, and many times since in public statements, he has favored pragmatism as the basis for civilized statecraft.
Some have suggested this is an inadequate approach for charting the new direction in foreign policy that Mr. Obama has promised. However, I believe those criticisms are misconceived. Pragmatism is necessary in nation-building and more likely to evoke a positive response from allies than an ideological crusade. Emerging democracies understand this challenge, undertaking in decades an experiment that has engaged America for much more than 200 years. Cooperative leadership is the important role we can play and the example we can set for others.
Nursultan Nazarbayev is president of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
About «The KAZAKHSTAN REPORT»
The Kazakhstan Report is a monthly news bulletin that has been issued in English since January 2009 by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the OSCE and the Embassy of Kazakhstan to Austria/Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna.
The bulletin narrates significant events taking place in Kazakhstan, informs about the country’s international initiatives and its stance on key issues. The bulletin is oriented towards the European audience, in the context of Kazakhstan’s “Path to Europe” State Programme.
The hard-copy version of the bulletin is distributed in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
On the web-site www.kazakhstan-osce.org, you can subscribe to the electronic version of The Kazakhstan Report just by indicating your e-mail address in the “subscribe” box.
An archive of past issues is also available on the website in both HTML and PDF versions.
