The OSCE/ODIHR has a mandate given to it by the OSCE participating States.
Thus, the Office is authorized to not only guarantee the protection of human rights, the rule of law and the development of democracy in the OSCE area, but also to promote constructive dialogue between the State and representatives of civil society.
The Office implements its mandate using annual financial contributions from the OSCE participating States as well as the so-called “extra-budgetary contributions” for individual projects from said States.
In the current geopolitical realities, the ODIHR is understandably unable to confirm its mandate and build consensus on its areas of work, but it holds review conferences in Warsaw annually.
The Warsaw conferences are still attended not only by so-called grant holders, but also by representatives of the civil and human rights community in Central Asia and the Caucasus who do not receive foreign funding, among whom I include myself.
I would like to emphasize that it is we, the representatives of civil society who are left without foreign attention, who represent genuine democratic forces, are the “genuine civil society” of the region. We do not chase foreign money, but work within our own country and conduct a challenging dialog with the state, changing the political culture of the country daily.
We do not go to Warsaw for contracts or new grants, we do not make flashy presentations there, inventing “humanitarian crises”, political prisoners, political refugees and political persecution.
We conduct consistent work, applying democratic standards. For us, the democratic agenda is not a method of making money, getting political or geopolitical bonuses, it is daily consistent work on institutions and the practice of commitments made by the country.
We simply want to be heard over the chorus of paid and unconstructive criticism from the “devourers” of foreign democratic budgets, who have long ago seized and turned the human rights agenda into a “cold weapon”.
In fact, the mandate of the OSCE/ODIHR, in the absence of consensus on the future of this structure, is highly unsustainable. It is we who allow the Office to live up to its so-called supranational status in the field of human rights and democracy.
However, such a noble mission of the OSCE/ODIHR at this year's meeting in Warsaw was not fulfilled.
There was something that went wrong: the supranational status of the ODIHR was “demolished” by the attempts of the moderators of this year's Warsaw meeting to “silence” the truth by the delegations of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus to expose the activities of paid representatives of the non-governmental sector, and they have done so using procedural and other levers:
First. When moderating the agenda, the organizers of this year's Warsaw meeting made changes to the order of business, pushing our statements to the end, which did not allow us to be heard. At the same time, such quasi-human rights activists as B. Toregozhina and her friends from pro-Ablyazov extremist structures were given the Warsaw “prime-time”, which allowed them to, without limit, pour dirt on everything that we have painstakingly done in a difficult dialog with the state over the past years.
Thus, we system human rights defenders on introduction of international standards into political culture of Kazakhstan were actually pushed out and replaced by paid voices of people who do not even live in the country, but work in the interests of criminal oligopoly.
Second. Complete incomprehension was caused by repeated speeches of the coordinator of the headquarters of the extremist organization DVK, E. Nasipbekov, who is abroad and receives his salary from the funds stolen from the people of Kazakhstan.
In his speeches, he continued the extremist rhetoric, spreading lies and untruths about my country, but he cannot know the truth about Kazakhstan because he does not live here. How did the moderators of the OSCE/ODIHR allow such a person to the microphone and why did they not stop him; I openly warned all participants and organizers several times about the crimes and extremist nature of the activities of Nasipbekov and his patrons.
Third. Official representatives of individual States and, here I would like to dwell separately on the statements of the delegation from the United States regarding the Aidos Sadykov case.
Everyone knows very well that the case has a special context and many unfounded accusations. The case is full of falsehoods and political interpretations, which in the West have one simple name - defamation, for which they prosecute and imprison for 10 years in the same United States.
The U.S. delegation, as well as the delegations of all other partner countries of Kazakhstan, are well aware that the materials on this case have not yet been handed over by the Government of Ukraine. Contrary to all international obligations, bilateral agreements, requests of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kiev remains deaf and silent. With such deafness and muteness of Ukraine, in the absence of materials for investigation and legal proceedings, the U.S. “calls”/demands “justice” from Kazakhstan.
All of the above-mentioned points to the fact that the work of the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as of many other international interstate and intergovernmental structures, requires adjustments.
The Office should restore its role and “facilitate the development of constructive dialog between the State and representatives of civil society”, as its mandate states.
Either let the ODIHR become an international NGO and attract anyone it wants: corrupt officials, fugitive oligarchs, thieves and criminals who use the human rights agenda to promote extremist ideas and make money, but such an environment will not be attended by a true human rights society.
I very much hope that the ODIHR will not remain deaf and mute to our requests, will move away from the policy of “double standards” and will bring its work in line with its own mandate.
By Usen Suleimen, Public Foundation “National Endowment for Prosperity”
Thus, the Office is authorized to not only guarantee the protection of human rights, the rule of law and the development of democracy in the OSCE area, but also to promote constructive dialogue between the State and representatives of civil society.
The Office implements its mandate using annual financial contributions from the OSCE participating States as well as the so-called “extra-budgetary contributions” for individual projects from said States.
In the current geopolitical realities, the ODIHR is understandably unable to confirm its mandate and build consensus on its areas of work, but it holds review conferences in Warsaw annually.
The Warsaw conferences are still attended not only by so-called grant holders, but also by representatives of the civil and human rights community in Central Asia and the Caucasus who do not receive foreign funding, among whom I include myself.
I would like to emphasize that it is we, the representatives of civil society who are left without foreign attention, who represent genuine democratic forces, are the “genuine civil society” of the region. We do not chase foreign money, but work within our own country and conduct a challenging dialog with the state, changing the political culture of the country daily.
We do not go to Warsaw for contracts or new grants, we do not make flashy presentations there, inventing “humanitarian crises”, political prisoners, political refugees and political persecution.
We conduct consistent work, applying democratic standards. For us, the democratic agenda is not a method of making money, getting political or geopolitical bonuses, it is daily consistent work on institutions and the practice of commitments made by the country.
We simply want to be heard over the chorus of paid and unconstructive criticism from the “devourers” of foreign democratic budgets, who have long ago seized and turned the human rights agenda into a “cold weapon”.
In fact, the mandate of the OSCE/ODIHR, in the absence of consensus on the future of this structure, is highly unsustainable. It is we who allow the Office to live up to its so-called supranational status in the field of human rights and democracy.
However, such a noble mission of the OSCE/ODIHR at this year's meeting in Warsaw was not fulfilled.
There was something that went wrong: the supranational status of the ODIHR was “demolished” by the attempts of the moderators of this year's Warsaw meeting to “silence” the truth by the delegations of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus to expose the activities of paid representatives of the non-governmental sector, and they have done so using procedural and other levers:
First. When moderating the agenda, the organizers of this year's Warsaw meeting made changes to the order of business, pushing our statements to the end, which did not allow us to be heard. At the same time, such quasi-human rights activists as B. Toregozhina and her friends from pro-Ablyazov extremist structures were given the Warsaw “prime-time”, which allowed them to, without limit, pour dirt on everything that we have painstakingly done in a difficult dialog with the state over the past years.
Thus, we system human rights defenders on introduction of international standards into political culture of Kazakhstan were actually pushed out and replaced by paid voices of people who do not even live in the country, but work in the interests of criminal oligopoly.
Second. Complete incomprehension was caused by repeated speeches of the coordinator of the headquarters of the extremist organization DVK, E. Nasipbekov, who is abroad and receives his salary from the funds stolen from the people of Kazakhstan.
In his speeches, he continued the extremist rhetoric, spreading lies and untruths about my country, but he cannot know the truth about Kazakhstan because he does not live here. How did the moderators of the OSCE/ODIHR allow such a person to the microphone and why did they not stop him; I openly warned all participants and organizers several times about the crimes and extremist nature of the activities of Nasipbekov and his patrons.
Third. Official representatives of individual States and, here I would like to dwell separately on the statements of the delegation from the United States regarding the Aidos Sadykov case.
Everyone knows very well that the case has a special context and many unfounded accusations. The case is full of falsehoods and political interpretations, which in the West have one simple name - defamation, for which they prosecute and imprison for 10 years in the same United States.
The U.S. delegation, as well as the delegations of all other partner countries of Kazakhstan, are well aware that the materials on this case have not yet been handed over by the Government of Ukraine. Contrary to all international obligations, bilateral agreements, requests of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kiev remains deaf and silent. With such deafness and muteness of Ukraine, in the absence of materials for investigation and legal proceedings, the U.S. “calls”/demands “justice” from Kazakhstan.
All of the above-mentioned points to the fact that the work of the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as of many other international interstate and intergovernmental structures, requires adjustments.
The Office should restore its role and “facilitate the development of constructive dialog between the State and representatives of civil society”, as its mandate states.
Either let the ODIHR become an international NGO and attract anyone it wants: corrupt officials, fugitive oligarchs, thieves and criminals who use the human rights agenda to promote extremist ideas and make money, but such an environment will not be attended by a true human rights society.
I very much hope that the ODIHR will not remain deaf and mute to our requests, will move away from the policy of “double standards” and will bring its work in line with its own mandate.
By Usen Suleimen, Public Foundation “National Endowment for Prosperity”