A/HRC/14/10
orphanages and foster families. Those measures helped to reduce the number of children
without parental care from 16,008 in 2008 to 15,116 in 2009. Kazakhstan provides
language training for refugee children.
24.
Kazakhstan has established social centres for the prevention of child labour and
exploitation in the Almaty and southern Kazakhstan regions. At the national level, a special
department for the implementation of children’s legislation has been established within the
Office of the Prosecutor General, and specialized prosecutors work at the regional level.
Juvenile police departments are functioning in Astana and Almaty, and a network of
specialized barristers for juvenile cases has been established in five cities.
25.
With respect to libel, the delegation stated that Kazakhstan did not agree that there
was a need to decriminalize libel at this stage, because legal means such as the Criminal
Code were the most efficient mechanism for preventing libel, as well as for punishing
violations of individuals’ right to dignity, which was guaranteed by the Constitution.
26.
While the Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, certain limitations are
imposed when the objective of a gathering is recognized to be the incitement of racial,
social or religious hatred or intolerance or an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order,
or when a meeting might threaten public order and security. In practice, nearly 380
assemblies were organized in 2009, and 230 of them were held without notifying the
authorities. In 2009, administrative liability was applied against only 88 participants in
gatherings. The delegation noted that unjustified refusals to permit assembly still take
place. The National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012 calls for the adoption of a
new law to replace the requirement for prior authorization by authorities with notification in
order to organize a gathering.
B.
Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review
27.
During the interactive dialogue, statements were made by 54 delegations. Additional
statements by 18 delegations, which could not be delivered during the dialogue owing to
time constraints, will be posted on the extranet of the universal periodic review when
available.1 A number of delegations commended Kazakhstan for its comprehensive national
report. A number of delegations noted with appreciation that Kazakhstan had ratified major
international human rights instruments.
28.
Kyrgyzstan noted that Kazakhstan had undertaken pioneering reforms and that it had
adopted a National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012, as well as a concept for a
legal policy for the coming decade. It highlighted Kazakhstan’s cooperation with human
rights mechanisms, noting that the country had extended a standing invitation to special
procedures, that it worked closely with the regional office of OHCHR and that it had taken
measures to implement recommendations made by the Committee against Torture.
Kyrgyzstan made recommendations.
29.
Uzbekistan welcomed measures adopted to protect and promote human rights, and
noted that Kazakhstan placed great importance on economic, social and cultural rights,
including the rights of women and children, the right to health and the right to education.
Uzbekistan highlighted Kazakhstan’s efforts to develop its international cooperation in the
area of human rights, including through regular engagement with the human rights treaty
1
6
Chile, Slovakia, Iraq, Italy, the Syrian Arab Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Afghanistan, Angola, the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina, Tunisia, Mongolia, the
Republic of Moldova, Palestine and Maldives
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