KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES AIG AND TIP WITH JUSTICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000038

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

(C. KUCHTA-HELBLING) AND DRL/CRA (E. RAMBORGER)
USDOC FOR DAS STEWART, CENTRAL ASIA DESK OFFICER DSTARKS
USDOC FOR 3150/USCS/OIO/CEENIS/MCOSTA
USDOC FOR 3133/USCS/OIO/EUR/RD/TBREIDENSTINE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN KCRM KDEM PGOV PREL SMIG KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES AIG AND TIP WITH JUSTICE
MINISTER

REF: A) ALMATY 1450, B) ASTANA 33, C) ASTANA 5

ASTANA 00000038 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Ambassador met with Minister of Justice
Zagipa Baliyeva on April 18 in Astana. Baliyeva announced that
she had signed the AIG settlement agreement that afternoon and
the Ministry of Finance was expected to arrange payment shortly.
The Ambassador raised concerns about statistics produced by the
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for the Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
Report. Baliyeva acknowledged some problems, while highlighting
progress over the past year and plans to address weaknesses in
anti-TIP efforts. Also attending the meeting was Timur
Isabekov, the new Head of the Department of International
Relations, who previously worked on resolution of the AIG case.
End Summary.

AIG: SIGNED AT LAST

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2. (SBU) Baliyeva opened the meeting by announcing that she had
signed the AIG settlement agreement hours earlier, that very
afternoon. Clearly relieved that the matter was settled,
Baliyeva raised a "toast" to the occasion with mineral water.
The Ministry of Finance is expected to arrange payment of the
settlement without delay (see Ref A).

ANTI-TRAFFICKING: PROGRESS AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

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3. (SBU) Turning to TIP, Baliyeva proudly pointed to
Kazakhstan's progress in combating trafficking in persons over
the past year, including March passage of TIP amendments (Ref B)
and the April 10 adoption of the 2006 - 2008 National Plan of
Action to Combat TIP ("National Plan"). Since her February
meeting with the Ambassador (Ref C),Baliyeva has ordered
monthly meetings of the TIP interagency working group, which she
invited Poloff to attend. She noted that the MOJ was expanding
distribution of its TIP education and prevention booklet (Ref C)
to grade schools and to international airports and train
stations within Kazakhstan.


4. (SBU) The Ambassador commended Baliyeva on these
achievements, but noted that the number of prosecutions for TIP
in 2005 was low, and the GOK had had a difficult time providing
statistics Post requested. While praising the hard work done by
police and prosecutors in combating TIP crimes, Baliyeva
acknowledged the problem and promised to raise the issue at a
meeting of the TIP commission and come up with recommendations
to appropriate agencies on how to improve. She pointed to two
legislative changes that would improve the GOK's law enforcement
response to TIP: the March TIP Amendments and the proposed
national program of legal development, currently being discussed
at the interagency level, which creates a stronger role for
defense lawyers in the judiciary process. Investigators,
Baliyeva believed, would have to sharpen evidence collection
skills to bring successful convictions in all criminal cases.


5. (SBU) Ambassador Ordway noted the increasing international
attention devoted to combating TIP, an area where the U.S. has
long had an interest. He mentioned the upcoming May 18-19 OSCE
regional anti-trafficking conference in Astana, which will put
Kazakhstan in the spotlight, giving the GOK a chance to show how
far it has come. Baliyeva said that she would be attending the
conference and planned to make a presentation.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

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6. (SBU) The MOJ, which acts as a legal think tank, is the
principal drafter of civil and administrative legislation within
the government. Baliyeva mentioned three working groups that
are currently working on a significant body of amendments to the
civil and administrative codes, and to several statutes. She
noted that a fourth working group under the Procurator General's
Office is working on reforms to the Criminal and Criminal
Procedure codes. (Note: No further information was given as to
the subject matter of the proposed amendments. End note.)

PENAL REFORM AND ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING

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ASTANA 00000038 002.2 OF 002




7. (SBU) Baliyeva turned next to prison supervision issues.
Over the past few years, Kazakhstan has reduced prison
populations by decriminalizing certain minor offenses, by
developing a system of alternative punishments, and by granting
amnesty for certain crimes. (Note: President Nazarbayev
announced a large scale amnesty for the New Year, which is
currently being implemented. End note.) With OSCE technical
assistance, the MOJ is working on wider implementation of
probation as an alternate sentence. Baliyeva estimated that
44,000 prisoners are currently in the system, but she expects
that 2,000 will be released under the amnesty, bringing
Kazakhstan to 35th place worldwide in terms of number of
prisoners. Successful implementation of probation and other
elements of the national legal program would result in further
reduction of the number of prisoners.


8. (SBU) Besides reducing the prison population, the MOJ plans
to reduce overcrowding by building eight new low- security men's
prisons, each housing 300 prisoners. The new prisons will meet
international standards, and will have libraries, gyms, and
visitors' rooms. Future programs will improve conditions in
women's prisons and juvenile detention facilities. Baliyeva was
proud to announce that she reached an MOJ agreement with the
Education Ministry to open a separate department at law
institutes to train specialists to work with prisoners and
prison staff.
TRACY