A meeting of the subgroup of the Consultative and Advisory Body "Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension" was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the chairmanship of Alua Nadirkulova, Ambassador-at-Large of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, press service of the Kazakh MFA reports.
The agenda addressed key issues on improving measures to prevent and protect against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The meeting opened with a report by Vladimir Malakhov, Deputy Head of the Pre-Trial Investigation Service of the General Prosecutor’s Office. In his speech, he informed about the important reforms being carried out in the country in the field of criminal proceedings in order to bring criminal legislation in line with Kazakhstan’s international obligations. Particular attention was paid to the need for full rehabilitation and compensation for victims of torture. Thus, the issue of introducing amendments to increase the amount of compensation for harm and improve its mechanism is currently under consideration.
On the second issue of the meeting, Zhanar Bigaliyeva, Head of Unit of the National Center for Human Rights, presented a report on the role of the National Preventive Mechanism (hereinafter - NPM) in the prevention of torture. To date, the work of the office is focused on improving the functionality of the information system of the Commissioner for Human Rights and completing its integration with the terminals for filing complaints from convicted persons, completing the transition to a digital format for the work of NPM participants in compiling reports, as well as increasing funding for the NPM.
During consideration of the third question, Gulnara Sarsenbaeva, Director of the Department of Organization of Medical Care of the Ministry of Health, reported on the work being done to provide medical care for persons held in penal institutions. She shared her plans for the current year to amend regulations to introduce 24-hour beds, change the list of tests during medical examinations, revise equipment, staffing levels and the list of screening examinations, as well as the introduction of medical and social services and digitalization.
During the discussion of the fourth item on the agenda, Bakytzhan Sadybekov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Criminally-Executive System of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (hereinafter - CCES), noted that in order to prevent torture, all institutions are under continuous video surveillance, with over 39,000 cameras, which are also available online for the prosecutor’s office. In addition, he pointed out that, with the adoption of the Social Code, inmates with a first-group disability in the penitentiary institutions could be cared for by persons from among the inmates of the same institutions and receive social benefits in the form of care allowances.
On the fifth issue of the meeting, Yulia Ovechkina, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Ministry of Education, said that citizens serving sentences in penitentiary institutions have the right to secondary education and are offered to get a working specialty free of charge. As of today, 2,522 students are studying in colleges under the CCES.
In general, the issues on the agenda were discussed in a constructive and open format. Representatives of state bodies and NGOs had an opportunity for direct exchange of opinions and recommendations.
The Consultative and Advisory Body "Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension" was established in 2013 on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The platform is an effective tool for facilitating dialogue between the Government and the civil sector. Various topical issues of human rights protection are discussed on the platform with the participation of international organizations (UNDP, UN OHCHR, OSCE, etc.) as observers.
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