Kazakh President calls for reforms to judicial and law enforcement systems

Last week, 17 August 2010, the President of Kazakhstan declared in Decree № 1039 measures to improve the judicial system and law enforcement in the country.

Among the reforms outlined in Decree № 1039 are changes to the administration of places of detention. Drug and addiction rehabilitation centres, houses of administrative arrest, temporary isolation centres and rehabilitation centres for minors which were previously under the Ministry of Interior will now be under the Ministries of Health, Justice and Education.

The government has committed to submit to Parliament, by the end of the year, draft laws on the following issues:

• Amendment of legislation according United Nations Convention Against Torture
• Liberalisation of criminal legislation and decriminalisation
• Transferring of social adaptation and rehabilitation of ex-prisoners functions to local authorities
• Alternatives to imprisonment: fines, mediation, community service, limitation of freedom, electronic tagging, etc.
• Public control of law-enforcement bodies
• Cooperation of law-enforcement bodies and civil organisations.

PRI welcomes the government’s efforts to bring legislation in line with the requirements of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It is concerned however, that the timeframe in which government has agreed to submit the draft laws is not sufficient to address the needs and rights of the public and of people in places of detention.

PRI has offered its expertise to the government and will support its efforts to prevent the practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in places of detention, in doing so it will draw upon its networks of experts and its experience of working on torture prevention in Kazakhstan over the past ten years.