Kazakhstan – PRI involved in draft law discussions

On 19th April 2012 in Astana, PRI’s Central Asia office was involved in discussions at the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on two draft laws concerning the creation of a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), aimed at the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and on public monitoring of places of detention.

The proposed ‘Ombudsman Plus’ model for the NPM has been sent to the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture but, as some gaps in its scope and detail have been identified, a working group has been set up to ensure the draft law will be brought up to international standards. PRI believes that the NPM is an essential step for Kazakhstan and must comply with international requirements, so will be continuing to monitor its development closely.

Read the draft law on public monitoring of places of detention, as well as press releases, in Russian and English.