KAZAKHSTAN: NGO LAWS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

UNCLAS ALMATY 003084

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN (J.MUDGE),DRL/PHD (C. KUCHTA-
HELBLING)

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID KZ POLITICAL
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: NGO LAWS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

REF: A) Almaty 2386, B) Almaty 3047, C) Astana 6


1. (SBU) Summary: The Constitutional Council has ruled that
pending NGO legislation which had provoked a storm of
international criticism is unconstitutional. President
Nazarbayev is expected to comply with the ruling and reject
the legislation. This is a very positive development, as
the legislation would have crippled the development of civil
society in Kazakhstan by limiting foreign assistance and
imposing onerous re-registration requirements. End summary.


2. (U) On August 23, the Constitutional Council ruled that
two laws on NGOs were unconstitutional. The laws, which
were adopted by Parliament on June 29 and referred to the
Constitutional Council by President Nazarbayev for analysis
on July 4, had provoked an outcry among the NGO community
and international human rights groups. Provisions allowing
international NGOs to work only through local branches,
requiring the re-registration of all NGOs, forbidding non-
Kazakhstanis from heading local offices, and mandating local
government approval of all grants from international
organizations to local NGOs would have severely hampered the
development of civil society (Ref A).


3. (U) Despite the ruling, the package of legislation will
still go to President Nazarbayev for consideration. Article
73, point 4 of the Constitution specifies that "The
President of the Republic may object, as a whole or in part
to the resolutions of the Constitutional Council. These
objections shall be overruled by two-thirds of the votes of
the total number of the members of the Constitutional
Council. If the objections of the President are not
overruled, the resolution of the Constitutional Council
shall be considered not adopted."


4. (SBU) Local observers do not expect Nazarbayev to contest
the ruling. Yevgeniy Zhovtis of the Kazakhstani
International Bureau of Human Rights termed the laws "dead."
He believes the drafts were initiated and supported by the
Presidential Administration; their rejection by the
Constitutional Council, where Nazarbayev controls five of
the seven members, is a clear sign that the GOK took the
political decision to drop the legislation in the face of
international criticism. He also pointed out that there
would not be sufficient time to revise the legislation
before December 2005 presidential elections (Ref B). Ninel
Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee believes that while
the current legislation will not reappear, after the
elections the Presidential Administration will try to
introduce certain elements through amendments to current
legislation. She highlighted in particular comments by
Nazarbayev in August regarding the need for transparency in
the financing of NGOs and the fact that only Kazakhstanis
should head NGOs.


5. (SBU) Comment: This is a very positive development.
Signature of this legislation would have dealt a severe blow
to the development of civil society in Kazakhstan, well
beyond the circle of NGOs that are U.S. assistance partners.
The legislation would also have significantly constrained
the ability of international and local NGOs to help parties
and observers prepare for December 2005 presidential
elections. Today's announcement came as a pleasant
surprise, given that during an August 22 public hearing the
Constitutional Council appeared to be in no hurry to render
a final decision. Given the recent passage of several other
pieces of troubling legislation, however, most notably the
national security amendments (Ref C),the outlook for
political reform and the development of civil society in
Kazakhstan is still not bright.


6. (U) Dushanbe minimize considered.

ASQUINO


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