Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs received OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

Nur-Sultan, September 13, 2021 – Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi  held a meeting with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, as part of her introductory visit to Kazakhstan.

The parties discussed topical issues of the current agenda of the OSCE and the interaction of the Republic of Kazakhstan with one of the key institutions of the Organization in the field of the human dimension. The need to implement the spirit and letter of the Astana Declaration: Towards a Security Community, adopted at the end of the OSCE Summit in Astana on December 1-2, 2010, where the important role of civil society and free media is outlined, is emphasized.

In this context, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan informed the OSCE Representative on the progress in the implementation of reforms initiated by President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev within the framework of the concept of a “Listen State”, in particular, on the decriminalization of libel in Kazakhstan and humanization of Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on incitement of hatred.

In turn, the head of the OSCE Institute stressed her intention to make serious efforts to increase mutual dialogue in order to jointly confront common challenges, noting the experience of Kazakhstan's chairmanship and the results of the OSCE Astana summit, which are still important starting points for solving the challenges facing the Organization.