Representatives of the Ombudsman’s office participated in the EU seminar

Representatives of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 15 to 19 April this year in Helsinki (Finland) participated in a seminar for the Offices of the Ombudsmen of Central Asia. The seminar was organized by the European Union in cooperation with the Centre for the Rule of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Ministry of Justice of Finland.  The event was also attended by the Ombudsmen of the Central Asian countries and their offices.

The main objective of the event is to develop international cooperation in the field of human rights protection of the Ombudsmen of Finland and Central Asian countries, to exchange experience on modern mechanisms of human rights protection and to organize discussions on topical issues.

During the seminar Zharkynbek Bakashbayev, Deputy Head of the National Human Rights Centre, made a presentation and spoke about the special status of the Commissioner, constitutional reform, Having identified new opportunities for citizens to restore violated rights and prevent their violations, as well as the daily activities of the office of the Ombudsman and its regional representatives. He also stressed that the work of the National Centre for Human Rights was now increasingly focused on proactive approaches to human rights protection, for which purpose an information and analysis unit had been established within the organization.

Meetings were held, however, with Mikko Kivikoski, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Justice of Finland, Johanna Suurpää, Director-General of the Rule of Law Centre of Finland, Tuja Brax, Maya Deputy Ombudsman, Maya Vice-Chancellor of Justice Mikko Puumalainen, Prosecutor General of Finland Ari-Pekko Koivista, as well as Kari Kuusinemi, President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland.  A visit to the Finnish prison system was also organized.

During his working visit, Zh. Bakashbayev informed his foreign colleagues in detail about the progress of the ongoing reforms in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the interaction of government and civil society through the implementation of the concept of "Hearing State" and its future prospects. At the same time, the provisions significantly enhancing the human rights capacity of the country were explained, political reforms in the democratic context of the country’s development were discussed, as well as current issues of the Office of the Ombudsman.

In general, the information provided by the Deputy Head of the NCHR aroused great interest and support from foreign colleagues.

Following the meetings, agreements were reached on further mutual cooperation.