In this issue:
Kazakhstan Joins Two Human Rights Pacts
President Ratifies Caspian Delimitation Accords with Russia, Azerbaijan
Parliament to Hold Hearings on Three Election Bills in Three Weeks
German Chancellor, in Astana for First Time, Seeks Closer Ties
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
Happy Birthday! --- Tuylgan Kuninisben! [Too-yhl-ghan Koo-nyh-nyz-ben]
How old are you? --- Sizdin zhasynyz kanshada? [Syz-DIN ZHA-sy-nyz kan-SHA-da]
Falcon --- Sunkar [Soon-CAR]
Kazakhstan Joins Two Human Rights Pacts
Kazakhstan joined the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on December 2. Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Kazakhstan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, signed the originals of the pacts at a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York City.
The signing took place two weeks after President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree authorizing the move by Kazakhstan (see Kazakhstan News Bulletin, November 26, 2003). The pacts, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, form the International Bill of Human Rights. They are deposited with the UN Secretary General.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a December 2 press release said: "Kazakhstan's accession to fundamental UN human rights documents corresponds fully with the efforts of the nation in establishing a society that gives priority to respect of all human rights and fundamental freedoms irrespective of sex and ethnic or religious background."
Joseph K. Grieboski, President of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy, welcomed the move and said: "This is yet another step forward for democracy in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has come further than any post-Soviet state in the process of democratization, and President Nazarbayev has now further advanced the country's development."
The pacts will need to be ratified by Kazakhstan's legislation for the accession process to be complete. Kazakhstan said earlier it will join the pacts with reservations on several points in accordance with national legislation, and have objections to certain reservations of other countries.
President Ratifies Caspian Delimitation Accords with Russia, Azerbaijan
President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed into law a bill ratifying an agreement with Russia and Azerbaijan setting the borders of each country's sector on the Caspian seabed and defining the point of contact of their respective national sectors.
The agreement enhances legal status
of the development of the Caspian's
resources in the respective sectors.
Kazakhstan's sector has seen
extensive development of its oil
reserves in recent years, linked to
the exploration and development
of the Kashagan oil field, the world's
fifth largest, by an international
consortium. Kazakhstan plans to
auction off more than 100 new
prospective exploration blocks in
the coming years.
The agreement was signed in May
news agency, under the agreement,
Kazakhstan's sector will amount to 29% of the Caspian seabed, Russia will have 19% and Azerbaijan will have 18/19 percent.
Overall legal status of the sea remains unresolved until negotiations with two other Caspian littoral states, Iran and Turkeminstan, are completed.
Maulen Ashimbayev, Director of Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies, was quoted in a recent edition of Defense and Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy magazine as saying, "the creation of a security system of the Caspian region and the major export pipelines is one of the key tasks of the coming decades in order to ensure security in the Caspian Central Asian region." He added, "The United States has strategic interests in the Caspian and should be interested in the formation of the security system in the region."
Parliament to Hold Hearings on Three Election Bills in Three Weeks
Members of both chambers of Kazakhstan's Parliament voted November 28 to hold initial hearings on three proposed bills on elections December 26.
The Parliament took up for review three different bills on election processes, including a Government-sponsored draft. Two groups of Majilis deputies, one of the centrist Otan (Fatherland) party and an alliance of members of Auyl (Village) Social Democratic Party and the Party of Patriots, offered their own versions of the bill. Each of the proposed bills would further development of democratic and transparent election processes.
The election legislation has been under intensive discussions in various public forums during the last several years, including a series of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sponsored round-tables and the Permanent Conference on Democratization that included representatives of all political strata in Kazakhstan as well as foreign observers. These discussions began after elections in 1999 failed to meet OSCE standards.
Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, Chairman of the Majilis (lower house), in a December 2 opinion piece in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, expressed hope that "a new truly democratic law on elections will reduce to the minimum the influence of authorities on the election campaigns, ensure an unimpeded and free expression of the will of the people and allow our society to effectively control every stage of the process." He added the adoption of such a law would be "a reflection of the positive trends of the development of our society."
The next parliamentary election is scheduled for the fall of 2004, followed by the presidential election in January 2006.
German Chancellor, in Astana for First Time, Seeks Closer Ties
German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, visiting Astana on December 4 and 5, said Kazakhstan is attractive to Germany for two reasons: its stabilizing role in the region and its large energy reserves.
At a news conference in Astana following his meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Chancellor Schroeder said Kazakhstan plays "an important stabilizing role in this volatile region of Central Asia." According to Kazakhstan Today news agency, the Chancellor believes this is explained "by the understanding by the President of Kazakhstan of the fact that economic cooperation and developing common positions with other countries contribute to the stabilization of the entire region."
Kazakhstan's rich energy resources are the second reason for Germany's interest. "They are very important for such industrial and export oriented country as Germany," the Chancellor said, adding that both countries are seeking expansion of economic cooperation.
Several bilateral agreements, including one on training Kazakhstan's business managers in Germany, were signed during the visit. A business forum also took place in Astana on the last day. Business deals in areas including telecommunications were also concluded.
In addition to President Nazarbayev, Chancellor Schroeder met Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, speaker of the Majilis (Lower House of Parliament), and representatives of Kazakhstan's non-governmental organizations and the German community in the country.
At independence in 1991, about a million ethnic Germans lived in Kazakhstan, relatives of those exiled from the Volga region by Stalin during World War II. They began emigrating to Germany after the borders were opened, becoming an important bridge between the two countries. Today, there are still more than 300,000 ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan.
Things to Watch:
- OSCE sponsors conference on December 5 and 6 in Almaty on improving Kazakhstan's criminal justice system
- Key executives of major foreign companies in Kazakhstan meet with President Nursultan Nazarbayev as part of the 10th biennial Foreign Investors Council meeting on December 6
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For more news and information visit us at www.kazakhembus.com
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
