From: "eu2002.dk" Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 13:17:57 Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations News item: Other documents SPECIAL PERMANENT COUNCIL No. 409, 11 September 2002 EU Statement in response to the address by H.E. the Kazakh State Secretary, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. K. Tokaev The European Union welcomes State Secretary, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Tokaev. We value your appearance before the Permanent Council as a clear sign of the readiness of your government to further develop the dialogue with the OSCE on all issues of common interest. The General Affairs Council of 10 December 2001 has reaffirmed the long-term commitment of the European Union to Central Asia. Over the years the dialogue with countries of the region has intensified. Only recently the fourth EU-Kazakhstan Co-operation Council took place in Brussels. We welcome the positive role of Kazakhstan in ensuring long-term security in Central Asia and working towards greater integration in the region, which we consider particularly important with regard to the multifaceted and transboundary character of many of the challenges the region is facing. The CICA summit in June of this year is a proof of Kazakhstan's successful strategy in this field. The EU shares the concerns of Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian states regarding the complex threats to security and stability in the region, some of them closely related to terrorism. The EU is committed to supporting the countries in addressing these challenges effectively, including through OSCE projects. We welcome the contributions of Kazakhstan to maintaining the fragile peace in Afghanistan which is of key importance for stability and security in Central Asia. The EU would like to underline that achieving stable peace, democratic reforms and economic prosperity in the region of Central Asia are common objectives, which we should seek to reach through constant progress in all three OSCE dimensions. The EU welcomes the progress Kazakhstan has made in transforming the economy since independence. It is important to benefit from this economic development in order to reduce poverty, which is one of the sources of instability and conflict. The EU supports the view that the economic and environmental dimension should be further strengthened. We note that Kazakhstan, together with the OSCE Centre in Almaty, has been working very actively in this field in the last year. The EU commends Kazakhstan's proposal to elaborate a Memorandum of Understanding in the economic and environmental dimension and looks forward to its joint implementation. The EU agrees that sustainable water management that takes into account the interests of all involved parties in Central Asia is a key issue. We believe that the OSCE can play a useful role in promoting co-operation in this field. The respect for human rights, democracy, the implementation of the rule of law, and a strong civil society are a pre-condition for lasting stability and security. We therefore welcome your President's statement on the occasion of the Constitution Day less than two weeks ago when he underlined the importance of full respect for human rights. We take positive note of the announcement that the election legislation will be reformed in the near future. In this regard we recall the recommendations produced by the OSCE/ODIHR Round Tables in 2001 and 2002. On the issue of the new Law on political parties, the EU is of the opinion that the state must play a minimal role in regulating the existence of political parties. It is for the electorate to decide which parties should represent them in the democratic institutions. Therefore, we welcome the offer by ODIHR to propose, on the basis of its review of the law, ways to ensure conformity with OSCE standards while at the same time meeting Kazakhstan’s legitimate concerns. We welcome that, according to the President's speech, an Ombudsman institution will be created in the near future. In his speech the President also touched upon the ongoing process of "humanisation" of the penal system in Kazakhstan, which has led to improvement in detention facilities and includes attempts to use more widely alternatives to prison when sentencing. We saw at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in July 2002 on prison reform that Kazakhstan has made considerable progress in this field. We hope that, based on the already good cooperation between the Centre and the competent authorities, this process will be continued. The EU welcomes the discussion about a moratorium on the death penalty and encourages Kazakhstan to introduce such a moratorium as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty. We have expressed on various occasions in the last few months our concern about the course of events leading up to the trial of Mr Zhakiyanov. The EU is also concerned about the harassment suffered by other members of the opposition as well as about the attacks against journalists and independent media in Kazakhstan. We urge the authorities in Kazakhstan to make every effort both to find the culprits and to institute criminal proceedings against them and to do everything in their power to ensure the physical security of members of opposition parties, NGO activists and journalists. We sincerely hope that Kazakhstan will strengthen the progress of democratisation to which Kazakhstan has committed itself. To this end we look forward to a continuation and even intensification of the co-operation with the OSCE and its institutions in all OSCE dimensions. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union and the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey align themselves with this statement. You can change your eu2002.dk subscription or unsubscribe here: www.eu2002.dk/subscriptions/subscriptionLoginForm.asp?MenuElementID=3029