KAZAKHSTAN: DAS KROL DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTION PLAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001952

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/RPM, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM OSCE KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: DAS KROL DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTION PLAN
WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

REF: ASTANA 1516

ASTANA 00001952 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Chairman of the President's Human Rights
Commission, Sagynbek Tursunov, asserted to Deputy Assistant
Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs George Krol and NSC
Central Asia Director Kurt Donnelly on October 29 that the recently
adopted Human Rights Action Plan was "well received" by Western
governments at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe's (OSCE) Human Dimensions Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in
Warsaw. Supreme Court judge Marziya Baltabai admitted that
implementation of the Plan will be "the toughest challenge," but
noted that some of the Plan's recommendations are part of the
government's recently adopted 10-year legal strategy. On the
Zhovtis case, Tursunov said the Commission asked the authorities to
conduct the trial in "full accordance with the law." Balatbai
chided us for discussing an ongoing legal case and underlined that
Zhovtis was treated "like anybody else under the law." END
SUMMARY.

ACTION PLAN -- "HARD TO CHANGE LAWS OVERNIGHT"


3. (SBU) On October 29, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and
Central Asian Affairs George Krol and NSC's Director for Central
Asia Kurt Donnelly met with the Chairman of the President's Human
Rights Commission, Sagynbek Tursunov. Members of Parliament Nikolay
Turetskiy and Nurlan Abdikov, Supreme Court judge Marziya Baltabai,
and Human Rights Commission's staff member Yeskendir Nauryzbayev
also attended. Tursunov told DAS Krol that the Human Rights
Commission advises the President and the Parliament on ways to raise
Kazakhstan's human rights legislation to international standards.
He highlighted the Commission's recently-adopted Action Plan for
Human Rights 2009-2012 (reftel). Drafted with significant input
from NGOs, he asserted that it was "very well received" by Western
governments at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe's (OSCE) Human Dimensions Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in
Warsaw.


4. (SBU) DAS Krol noted that the Action Plan is an "important step"
in Kazakhstan's effort to bring into compliance its legislation with
international standards and asked Tursunov about the Commission's
strategy for the Plan's implementation. Tursunov said the
Commission is publicly presenting the Plan in regional capitals to
"raise public awareness of the Plan's existence." He admitted that
not all of Kazakhstan's laws comply with international standards,
and asserted the Commission is working on introducing appropriate
legislative changes. The Supreme Court's Baltabai agreed that the
Plan's implementation will be "the toughest challenge. It is hard
to change laws overnight." The government included some of the
Plan's proposals in its recently-adopted 10-year legal strategy, she
said.

ZHOVTIS WAS "TREATED LIKE ANYBODY ELSE"


5. (SBU) Krol noted that the media and international community's
high degree of scrutiny of the case of Yevgeniy Zhovtis, one of the
principle drafters of the Action Plan. He asked Tursunov about the
Human Rights Commission's reaction to allegations that Zhovtis'
basic rights were violated during the trial and appeal. Tursunov
acknowledged Zhovtis' "great contribution" to the Action Plan and
said the Commission "from the very beginning" urged that the trial
be conducted in "full accordance with the law."


6. (SBU) Baltabai interjected to say that discussion of an ongoing
case could be construed as interference in the judicial system. "As
a representative of the judicial system, I would urge you not to
discuss an ongoing legal case, as I am sure you would tell me about
cases in your own country. Mr. Zhovtis has not exhausted all his
appeal motions, and he is welcome to turn to a court of higher
instance." (NOTE: Balatbai was vague on which "higher instance
court" she meant, creating the impression that Zhovtis can appeal to
the Supreme Court. In response to Krol's question, she clarified
that she meant the judicial review panel of the appellate court, an

ASTANA 00001952 002.2 OF 002


option Zhovtis' defense team plans to pursue. END NOTE.) "My worry
is that the rights of many defendants are not always protected
during trials," she said, "but such are our laws, and judges must
follow the law. I am sorry Mr. Zhovtis has found himself in this
situation," she continued, "but he was treated like anybody else
under the law, and I would advise you not to create too much
excitement around his case lest regular people be offended."


7. (SBU) COMMENT: It is noteworthy, but not surprising, that the
Human Rights Commission is steering clear of the case against
Zhovtis, a member of the Commission and the country's leading human
rights defender. The Commission is part of the Presidential
Administration, and it most likely would not dare to depart from the
party line about this case without highest-level approval. END
COMMENT.


8. (U) DAS Krol and Director Donnelly cleared this cable.

HOAGLAND