Kazakhstan and the European Union on the way to create a common legal space

Commissioner for Human Rights Artur Lastayev met with a delegation of the Council of Europe consisting of Director for Human Rights and the Rule of Law S. Dikman, coordinators of the cooperation program and the HELP project in Central Asia O.Freisteter and K.Khokhlova, expert on gender equality L.Mann.

During the meeting parties exchanged experience in the field of human rights protection and discussed concrete effective measures to eliminate the causes and conditions in law enforcement agencies that contribute to the occurrence of offenses related to torture. The issues on gender equality, domestic violence and the right of citizens to freedom of expression were also raised.

At welcoming the foreign guests, the Commissioner noted that Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the process of bringing the national system of ensuring and protecting human rights in line with the principles of best European practice.

Lastayev familiarized the members of the delegation with the human rights situation in the country and the activities of the National Human rights Institute. He outlined the constitutional reform within the framework of which the laws "On the Commissioner for Human Rights" and "On the Constitutional Court" were adopted that defines new opportunities for citizens to restore violated rights and prevent such violations.

Director Dikman noted that the Council of Europe shows a high interest in Kazakhstan, spoke positively about the constitutional modernization, within which the restructuring of all law enforcement activities and the national human rights system is in full swing. The head of the delegation assured readiness to provide further assistance in gradual creation of a common legal space between Europe and Kazakhstan.

At the end of the meeting, parties reached agreement on increasing bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues, including strengthening the expertise of the Ombudsman institute and bringing its activities in line with European standards in the field of human rights, the rule of law and democracy.