Kazakhstan must be reminded of its human rights obligations at Astana summit

Reporters Without Borders is appalled that Kazakhstan, as this year’s holder of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s rotating presidency, has been granted the distinction of hosting a special OSCE summit – only the seventh in the organization’s 35-year history – in Astana on 1-2 December. In view of the disgraceful situation of media freedom in Kazakhstan, which is currently getting worse, this distinction is incomprehensible and raises many questions about the OSCE’s priorities and the role it intends to play in the defence of fundamental freedoms. OSCE summits are not held regularly. They are special events. This summit is all the more extraordinary for being the first since the OSCE’s creation under the 1975 Helsinki Accords to be hosted by a former member of the Soviet Union. It represents a milestone in the OSCE’s development. Reporters Without Borders therefore fails to understand why Kazakhstan has not been told it has to comply with its obligations as an OSCE member. It is regrettable that an organization such as the OSCE is giving priority to security issues and combating terrorism at the expense of civil rights and freedoms, including the right to information and media freedom. This is a disturbing trend, especially as Lithuania, which takes over the OSCE presidency next year, has said it wants to follow Kazakhstan’s example. A regional economic giant, Kazakhstan has made absolutely no move to adopt legislation that complies with international standards on criminal and civil defamation, access to information and penalties for press offences. Media freedom declined markedly in 2010, the year that Kazakhstan has been holding the OSCE presidency. As a result of arrests of journalists, cases of censorship (of traditional and online media), journalists serving prison sentences (Ramazan Esergepov of Alma-Ata Info), physical attacks on journalists and lawsuits against news media, Kazakhstan fell 20 places in this year’s Reporters Without Borders press freedom index and now ranks alongside its authoritarian neighbour, Uzbekistan. Reporters Without Borders urges the foreign leaders and representatives of major international organizations attending the OSCE summit to remind the Kazakh authorities of their country’s human rights obligations. Failure to do this will send a clear signal to all OSCE members that a country with economic and military clout does not have to respect international law and fundamental freedoms.