Usen Suleimen, Director of the Public Foundation “National Endowment for Prosperity”
Ladies and gentlemen
Greetings to all of the participants in today's side-event. I am happy that this event is being held here in the UN building.
Kazakhstan is a consistent supporter of the United Nations as the “common home of all mankind,” a neutral and universal organization. The President of Kazakhstan noted this in his recent interview.
Today we have gathered to discuss one of the most acute problems facing modern society - the fight against torture and ill-treatment. This is not only a question of human rights, but also of humanity, dignity, and justice.
Ombudsman Lastayev gave his speech before me. I would like to respond to his speech as the head of a public foundation and on behalf of civil society.
First, as a former diplomat, I thank Mr. Lastayev for pointing out that Freedom from Torture is an absolute right of every human being. Kazakhstan has a zero-tolerance policy regarding torture. In this regard, I am delighted that our country has joined the universal international UN documents in this field, as mentioned by the Ombudsman.
Secondly, as can be seen from the Ombudsman's report, the statistics on torture over the past few years show a sharp decrease in the number of such cases.
If we go back a few years, there used to be few prosecutions for torture in the country. They refused to prosecute such criminal cases. The police even investigated torture committed by their own officers.
There was an overwhelming corporate solidarity, which essentially prevented the torturers from being held accountable for their actions.
Now, as you can see from the Ombudsman's report, this situation has seen a massive change.
Moreover, the figures show that the achieved result is not temporary, but has become a systemic, enduring trend. This confirms that the President has indeed declared war on torture back in March 2022, after the events of January.
There is every reason to believe that the established trend of stopping torture is developing into an established state policy.
We all understand that simply passing a law is only half the battle, it is much more important that it works in practice. This was also mentioned by the President in the aforementioned, recent interview.
Once again, I would like to refer to the figures that show a significant reduction in cases of torture. They show that all the legislative measures mentioned by the Commissioner are being actively implemented in practice. These include: increasing penalties for torture, making such cases the exclusive responsibility of the prosecutor's office, the impossibility of reconciliation, parole, amnesty, and statutes of limitations on torture.
Undoubtedly, there are those who are trying to downplay the achievements of the state in the fight against this phenomenon, but, as the President of Kazakhstan noted, these are only speculations and insinuations from bad actors; their attempts to politicize the situation.
Of course, we should not be complacent, there is still work to be done.
First, the Commissioner spoke about the exclusive jurisdiction regarding the cases of torture. Now, definitively, only the prosecutor's office investigates them.
However, the next important step is to improve the qualifications of prosecutors that would investigate torture. The more effective their investigations into such cases, the more public confidence in the state will rise.
Secondly, the Ombudsman told us that all secured institutions are equipped with video cameras. There is currently work being done to ensure 100% coverage by these cameras, leaving no blind spots.
It is important to ensure their operations are constant and uninterrupted. For this purpose, it is necessary to continue conducting inspections, including ones done by the Ombudsman.
Furthermore, all video surveillance servers should be handed over to the supervising and investigating body: the Prosecutor's Office.
The servers should not be in the hands of those who can potentially harm citizens.
Thirdly, the Commissioner showed us that healthcare in prison is now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health.
However, in my opinion, civil medicine is not yet 100% ready to provide timely healthcare to convicts in practice. It is engaged in double duty. First, doctors write a medical report on paper, then they go to an outpatient clinic and enter the information into an electronic database. According to the Istanbul Protocol, such things should happen immediately, within the walls of the closed institution itself.
Fourthly, we need to increase the amount of compensation for harm caused by torture. Currently, it is very miniscule and amounts to only 250 US dollars.
In general, Kazakhstan is a country of consistent modernization.
We are constantly improving work on the formation of an inclusive public environment, and we are fighting various societal problems. For example, domestic violence against women. Many have forgotten that this was an instruction from the Head of State.
We are convinced that torture and violence are societal ills that must be combated through a harmonious and systemic development of society, therefore, our national priorities are:
First, the well-being of citizens, which includes a just social policy, an accessible and effective health care system, and quality education.
Second,the institutional quality to build a just and effective state to protect the interests of citizens, foster the values of patriotism, and strengthen national security.
And third, a strong economy, which envisions building a diversified and innovative economy, active development of economic and trade diplomacy, and balanced territorial development.
To conclude, I would like to once again note that in Kazakhstan, this situation has taken a massive turn for the better; we must acknowledge this objectively.
I think I can confidently say that the state is successfully dealing with a situation as serious and dangerous as torture.
I believe that Kazakhstan is democratizing with great strides, we are a leader in Central Asia, a medium-sized power that can play an important role in overcoming the crisis of international trust and the deficit of responsible global leadership.
Thank you all for your attention!
Ladies and gentlemen
Greetings to all of the participants in today's side-event. I am happy that this event is being held here in the UN building.
Kazakhstan is a consistent supporter of the United Nations as the “common home of all mankind,” a neutral and universal organization. The President of Kazakhstan noted this in his recent interview.
Today we have gathered to discuss one of the most acute problems facing modern society - the fight against torture and ill-treatment. This is not only a question of human rights, but also of humanity, dignity, and justice.
Ombudsman Lastayev gave his speech before me. I would like to respond to his speech as the head of a public foundation and on behalf of civil society.
First, as a former diplomat, I thank Mr. Lastayev for pointing out that Freedom from Torture is an absolute right of every human being. Kazakhstan has a zero-tolerance policy regarding torture. In this regard, I am delighted that our country has joined the universal international UN documents in this field, as mentioned by the Ombudsman.
Secondly, as can be seen from the Ombudsman's report, the statistics on torture over the past few years show a sharp decrease in the number of such cases.
If we go back a few years, there used to be few prosecutions for torture in the country. They refused to prosecute such criminal cases. The police even investigated torture committed by their own officers.
There was an overwhelming corporate solidarity, which essentially prevented the torturers from being held accountable for their actions.
Now, as you can see from the Ombudsman's report, this situation has seen a massive change.
Moreover, the figures show that the achieved result is not temporary, but has become a systemic, enduring trend. This confirms that the President has indeed declared war on torture back in March 2022, after the events of January.
There is every reason to believe that the established trend of stopping torture is developing into an established state policy.
We all understand that simply passing a law is only half the battle, it is much more important that it works in practice. This was also mentioned by the President in the aforementioned, recent interview.
Once again, I would like to refer to the figures that show a significant reduction in cases of torture. They show that all the legislative measures mentioned by the Commissioner are being actively implemented in practice. These include: increasing penalties for torture, making such cases the exclusive responsibility of the prosecutor's office, the impossibility of reconciliation, parole, amnesty, and statutes of limitations on torture.
Undoubtedly, there are those who are trying to downplay the achievements of the state in the fight against this phenomenon, but, as the President of Kazakhstan noted, these are only speculations and insinuations from bad actors; their attempts to politicize the situation.
Of course, we should not be complacent, there is still work to be done.
First, the Commissioner spoke about the exclusive jurisdiction regarding the cases of torture. Now, definitively, only the prosecutor's office investigates them.
However, the next important step is to improve the qualifications of prosecutors that would investigate torture. The more effective their investigations into such cases, the more public confidence in the state will rise.
Secondly, the Ombudsman told us that all secured institutions are equipped with video cameras. There is currently work being done to ensure 100% coverage by these cameras, leaving no blind spots.
It is important to ensure their operations are constant and uninterrupted. For this purpose, it is necessary to continue conducting inspections, including ones done by the Ombudsman.
Furthermore, all video surveillance servers should be handed over to the supervising and investigating body: the Prosecutor's Office.
The servers should not be in the hands of those who can potentially harm citizens.
Thirdly, the Commissioner showed us that healthcare in prison is now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health.
However, in my opinion, civil medicine is not yet 100% ready to provide timely healthcare to convicts in practice. It is engaged in double duty. First, doctors write a medical report on paper, then they go to an outpatient clinic and enter the information into an electronic database. According to the Istanbul Protocol, such things should happen immediately, within the walls of the closed institution itself.
Fourthly, we need to increase the amount of compensation for harm caused by torture. Currently, it is very miniscule and amounts to only 250 US dollars.
In general, Kazakhstan is a country of consistent modernization.
We are constantly improving work on the formation of an inclusive public environment, and we are fighting various societal problems. For example, domestic violence against women. Many have forgotten that this was an instruction from the Head of State.
We are convinced that torture and violence are societal ills that must be combated through a harmonious and systemic development of society, therefore, our national priorities are:
First, the well-being of citizens, which includes a just social policy, an accessible and effective health care system, and quality education.
Second,the institutional quality to build a just and effective state to protect the interests of citizens, foster the values of patriotism, and strengthen national security.
And third, a strong economy, which envisions building a diversified and innovative economy, active development of economic and trade diplomacy, and balanced territorial development.
To conclude, I would like to once again note that in Kazakhstan, this situation has taken a massive turn for the better; we must acknowledge this objectively.
I think I can confidently say that the state is successfully dealing with a situation as serious and dangerous as torture.
I believe that Kazakhstan is democratizing with great strides, we are a leader in Central Asia, a medium-sized power that can play an important role in overcoming the crisis of international trust and the deficit of responsible global leadership.
Thank you all for your attention!