Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan: the return to dialogue is critically important.
The Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Usen Suleyman, published an article on the need to return to dialogue.
In March 2012, holding the position of Deputy Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE in Vienna, and responsible for the human dimension, I met with the head of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law Yevgeny Zhovtis. At that time, we could constructively discuss issues of Kazakhstan's political development and strengthening mechanisms for the protection of human rights and democracy in the country.
At that time, Zhovtis was planning to go abroad for permanent residence. He was asked to stay in Kazakhstan and participate in human rights activities, which he agreed to and stayed in Kazakhstan. Later, he became a member of the Consultative and Advisory Body "Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension" initiated by me at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan (CSR).
The platform was created in January 2013 – after my return to Kazakhstan and appointment as Ambassador-at-Large to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (for human Rights). It was attended by representatives of all government agencies, deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as representatives of NGOs, mainly funded by the United States and the EU. In addition, representatives of the EU, UNDP, OSCE, USAID, as well as the embassies of the USA, Canada, Germany, and Great Britain attended the meetings of the Dialogue Platform.
Yevgeny Zhovtis became not only an active participant in CSR, but also a manager of the dialogue between government agencies and representatives of the civil sector of Kazakhstan on certain issues.
At the beginning of the CSR meeting, it was very tense, as participants from the civil sector harshly and critically opposed government agencies. And it was all in the presence of international organizations and foreign embassies.
Presiding over CSR meetings, I supported the civil sector more than government agencies, which was in itself a unique phenomenon back in 2013. At that time, representatives of state bodies supported many initiatives of the civil sector, but were afraid of their superiors, some of whom were corrupt. But seeing that I was on the side of NGOs, they also expressed their thoughts, which completely coincided with the proposals of human rights defenders, which was discordant with the position of their leadership.
All CSR meetings were formed around two issues:
Consideration of NGO proposals in the legislative activity of Kazakhstan.
Bringing national legislation into line with the country's international obligations.
I am grateful to the civil sector for their participation, and to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law for systematizing and storing CSR recommendations, most of which were introduced during the political reform of the head of state – in building a Just Kazakhstan.
However, this contribution of the Dialogue Platform was not appreciated by civil society activists, human rights defenders, or our Western partners. Despite my repeated attempts to bring to the OSCE and UN platforms the unique effectiveness of CSR in building a dialogue between the state and human rights defenders, great democracies have remained deaf and dumb to the Kazakh experience.
"Deafness" and "dumbness" are the main reasons for the stagnation of democracy in the world. Its authors do not want to take into account history and traditions for the consistent implementation and development of democratic values in previously closed societies. They want quick and easy victories, for which, as in Latin America and the Middle East, local peoples have to pay for decades.
It strikes me that they are trying to make a similar mistake in Central Asia. Using standard patterns, they defiantly talk about the so-called "political prisoners", who, in fact, are criminals of the Law.
By promoting democracy, the West itself is mired in corruption, having forgotten its values. So, in Belgium, the vice-president of the European Parliament and several other people were detained in the case of large bribes. Large amounts of cash received from them, including from kleptocrats from Kazakhstan, were seized.
Many who receive illegal forms of financial support from these groups from Kazakhstan continue to be deputies not only in Europe, but also around the world, including in the United States. But the European Parliament, and in general, all national parliaments of Western countries remain the stronghold of democracy in the world – decisions are made there which democracy programs in Central Asia will receive financial support and which will not.
Last year, at the OSCE ODIHR conference in Warsaw, as the head of the National Endowment for Prosperity Public Foundation, I spoke about this to representatives of 57 OSCE participating countries, as well as the European Union. However, my questions about corruption in the democratic institutions of the world remained unanswered.
Such degradation trends have also left their mark on the behavior of the non-governmental sector in Central Asia. For example, individual NGOs in Kazakhstan receiving international grant funding began to strengthen the ideological component of their rhetoric, taking it far beyond the framework of Kazakhstan's international obligations and international practices of their implementation (in more detail).
In my understanding, this has become possible, including due to the specifics of the procedures for obtaining foreign grants. Thus, foreign grants to "trusted NGOs" are very easily allocated - on the basis of simple applications in conditions of complete irresponsibility to the population, as well as a complete lack of civic responsibility for their work. Moreover, foreign grants have never been allocated to NGOs working with the state – the unspoken rule of the foreign grant allocation policy remains in this matter.
It is not surprising that a number of such NGOs, receiving 100% foreign funding, have adapted to the culture of corruption in the West and are engaged in projects parallel to the processes of political and democratic development of a Just Kazakhstan. They are always critical of the political processes in Kazakhstan – they do not know the rules for maintaining objectivity in their work. Indiscriminate criticism is the only guarantee of preserving the income and income of foreign grants to their organizations. Discredit multiplied by disinformation has become their bargaining chip in maintaining long-term financial stability.
The current situation is reaching its critical peak – participants in the political process in Kazakhstan should look back and return to dialogue, use the best practices and traditions of CSR work.
The dialogue platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should regain its former strength and restore the process of dialogue between government agencies and NGOs. The platform should determine the agenda of political projects in Kazakhstan for foreign financing, clearly drawing red lines where such financing is transformed from constructive to destructive, directly interfering in domestic policy issues.
CSR should return to its role in overcoming possible misunderstandings. The platform should provide guarantees to foreign donors that NGOs receiving their grants work effectively with the state and influence political processes, and not in isolation, wasting foreign taxpayers' money.
Source: caravan.kz
The Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Usen Suleyman, published an article on the need to return to dialogue.
In March 2012, holding the position of Deputy Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE in Vienna, and responsible for the human dimension, I met with the head of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law Yevgeny Zhovtis. At that time, we could constructively discuss issues of Kazakhstan's political development and strengthening mechanisms for the protection of human rights and democracy in the country.
At that time, Zhovtis was planning to go abroad for permanent residence. He was asked to stay in Kazakhstan and participate in human rights activities, which he agreed to and stayed in Kazakhstan. Later, he became a member of the Consultative and Advisory Body "Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension" initiated by me at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan (CSR).
The platform was created in January 2013 – after my return to Kazakhstan and appointment as Ambassador-at-Large to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (for human Rights). It was attended by representatives of all government agencies, deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as representatives of NGOs, mainly funded by the United States and the EU. In addition, representatives of the EU, UNDP, OSCE, USAID, as well as the embassies of the USA, Canada, Germany, and Great Britain attended the meetings of the Dialogue Platform.
Yevgeny Zhovtis became not only an active participant in CSR, but also a manager of the dialogue between government agencies and representatives of the civil sector of Kazakhstan on certain issues.
At the beginning of the CSR meeting, it was very tense, as participants from the civil sector harshly and critically opposed government agencies. And it was all in the presence of international organizations and foreign embassies.
Presiding over CSR meetings, I supported the civil sector more than government agencies, which was in itself a unique phenomenon back in 2013. At that time, representatives of state bodies supported many initiatives of the civil sector, but were afraid of their superiors, some of whom were corrupt. But seeing that I was on the side of NGOs, they also expressed their thoughts, which completely coincided with the proposals of human rights defenders, which was discordant with the position of their leadership.
All CSR meetings were formed around two issues:
Consideration of NGO proposals in the legislative activity of Kazakhstan.
Bringing national legislation into line with the country's international obligations.
I am grateful to the civil sector for their participation, and to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law for systematizing and storing CSR recommendations, most of which were introduced during the political reform of the head of state – in building a Just Kazakhstan.
However, this contribution of the Dialogue Platform was not appreciated by civil society activists, human rights defenders, or our Western partners. Despite my repeated attempts to bring to the OSCE and UN platforms the unique effectiveness of CSR in building a dialogue between the state and human rights defenders, great democracies have remained deaf and dumb to the Kazakh experience.
"Deafness" and "dumbness" are the main reasons for the stagnation of democracy in the world. Its authors do not want to take into account history and traditions for the consistent implementation and development of democratic values in previously closed societies. They want quick and easy victories, for which, as in Latin America and the Middle East, local peoples have to pay for decades.
It strikes me that they are trying to make a similar mistake in Central Asia. Using standard patterns, they defiantly talk about the so-called "political prisoners", who, in fact, are criminals of the Law.
By promoting democracy, the West itself is mired in corruption, having forgotten its values. So, in Belgium, the vice-president of the European Parliament and several other people were detained in the case of large bribes. Large amounts of cash received from them, including from kleptocrats from Kazakhstan, were seized.
Many who receive illegal forms of financial support from these groups from Kazakhstan continue to be deputies not only in Europe, but also around the world, including in the United States. But the European Parliament, and in general, all national parliaments of Western countries remain the stronghold of democracy in the world – decisions are made there which democracy programs in Central Asia will receive financial support and which will not.
Last year, at the OSCE ODIHR conference in Warsaw, as the head of the National Endowment for Prosperity Public Foundation, I spoke about this to representatives of 57 OSCE participating countries, as well as the European Union. However, my questions about corruption in the democratic institutions of the world remained unanswered.
Such degradation trends have also left their mark on the behavior of the non-governmental sector in Central Asia. For example, individual NGOs in Kazakhstan receiving international grant funding began to strengthen the ideological component of their rhetoric, taking it far beyond the framework of Kazakhstan's international obligations and international practices of their implementation (in more detail).
In my understanding, this has become possible, including due to the specifics of the procedures for obtaining foreign grants. Thus, foreign grants to "trusted NGOs" are very easily allocated - on the basis of simple applications in conditions of complete irresponsibility to the population, as well as a complete lack of civic responsibility for their work. Moreover, foreign grants have never been allocated to NGOs working with the state – the unspoken rule of the foreign grant allocation policy remains in this matter.
It is not surprising that a number of such NGOs, receiving 100% foreign funding, have adapted to the culture of corruption in the West and are engaged in projects parallel to the processes of political and democratic development of a Just Kazakhstan. They are always critical of the political processes in Kazakhstan – they do not know the rules for maintaining objectivity in their work. Indiscriminate criticism is the only guarantee of preserving the income and income of foreign grants to their organizations. Discredit multiplied by disinformation has become their bargaining chip in maintaining long-term financial stability.
The current situation is reaching its critical peak – participants in the political process in Kazakhstan should look back and return to dialogue, use the best practices and traditions of CSR work.
The dialogue platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should regain its former strength and restore the process of dialogue between government agencies and NGOs. The platform should determine the agenda of political projects in Kazakhstan for foreign financing, clearly drawing red lines where such financing is transformed from constructive to destructive, directly interfering in domestic policy issues.
CSR should return to its role in overcoming possible misunderstandings. The platform should provide guarantees to foreign donors that NGOs receiving their grants work effectively with the state and influence political processes, and not in isolation, wasting foreign taxpayers' money.
Source: caravan.kz