Kazakhstan, as the rest of the world, is in the midst of a global pandemic, which greatly limits the possibility of the public to exercise the freedom of assembly.
The revised law on procedures for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies, pushed by the authorities, is generally not compliant with international human rights standards and contains severe and unjustified restraints on time and place of assemblies, and burdens placed on the organizers of assemblies.
IPHR, together with other members of the Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP), urge authorities in Kazakhstan to reconsider the passing of this law. We also urge the authorities to carefully consider the recommendations provided by representatives of civil society in Kazakhstan, including the detailed analysis of the draft law submitted by the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) as well as those of the International Centre for Non-Profit Law.
The right to carry out peaceful, public protest is a vital part of any modern democracy and should no longer be denied citizens of Kazakhstan. The rights enshrined in the Constitution must be respected in practice, without the imposition of regulations that appear to be designed still to curb this constitutional right.
Read the statement here.