OSCE Centre promotes high-level dialogue on increasing co-operation between Ombudsman, state institutions and non-governmental organizations

ASTANA, 15 October 2010 - An OSCE supported high-level national conference on strengthening co-operation between the Ombudsman, state institutions and civil society started in Astana today. 

The event, which was organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, brought together more than 90 participants from parliament, the presidential administration, government agencies, non-governmental and international organizations and media representatives.

The discussions focused on the need to consolidate joint efforts and enhance the Office of the Ombudsman's interaction with state agencies and non-governmental organizations to improve co-operation between civil society and national human rights institutions.

Ambassador Askar Shakirov, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan, said: "The modern state requires not only an independent Ombudsman Institution but also its direct interaction with other governmental institutions, civil society, as well as strong and authoritative non-governmental human rights organizations. In connection with this, Kazakhstan's aspirations to achieve high standards in providing for people's human rights underscore the need to strengthen co-operation between the Ombudsman, state institutions and civil society."

Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, said in a statement: "With all the variations that exist in the Ombudsman Institutions over the world, there are key elements that determine the proper functioning of these institutions: effective human rights protection cannot be achieved without an independent judiciary, guarantees that individuals' rights will be protected and efficient democratic institutions."

The conference is part of an OSCE Centre project to support the National Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, developed in co-operation with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Ombudsman Office in Kazakhstan.