OSCE Centre holds international conference on freedom of peaceful assembly

ASTANA, 13 December 2010 - A roundtable on international standards on freedom of peaceful assembly, co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, started today.

Seventy representatives from non-governmental and international organizations, media, and state agencies are taking part in the event. Participants will discuss the national legislation and practice concerning freedom of assembly, and their compliance with ratified international human rights instruments, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The correlation between Kazakhstan’s legislation provisions related to limitations on the right to protest and challenges to freedom of assembly, and the executive practice will be analysed. The discussion will aim to highlight gaps between the current situation, on the one hand, and Kazakhstan’s commitments, as well as the UN and OSCE expert recommendations for further legal reform, on the other hand.

"The right to assemble peacefully is guaranteed by key human rights treaties and is a part of the commitments assumed by the OSCE participating States under the 1990 Copenhagen Document," said Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana. "The OSCE Centre will continue to assist Kazakhstan in bringing national legislation in line with international standards."

The seminar was organized jointly by the OSCE Centre in Astana, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, the National Commission on Human Rights under the President of Republic of Kazakhstan, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and National Democratic Institute. A member of the OSCE/ODIHR Panel of Experts on the Freedom of Assembly also participated in the event.