HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE STARTS CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF KYRGYZSTAN

Press Release
HR/CT/569

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE STARTS CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF KYRGYZSTAN

Torture And Ill-treatment Not Yet Fully Eliminated in Kyrgyzstan, Report Says

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 11 July (UN Information Service) -- The Human Rights Committee this morning started its consideration of an initial report submitted by the Government of Kyrgyzstan on its compliance with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Introducing his country's initial report, Chubak Abyshkaev, General Prosecutor of Kyrgyzstan, said that the right to peaceful assembly was fully guaranteed by the law as part of free expression of opinion; although the holding of a public demonstration required a written permission from the competent authorities ten days before it would take place, it was not restricted except for reasons of public security.

Over the course of the discussion, the Committee experts asked the delegation about such issues as the death penalty, prison conditions, trafficking in women, and the right to freedom of movement, among others.

Also included in the Kyrgyz delegation were Cholpan Baekova, President of the Constitutional Court of the Kyrgyz Republic; Turshunbai Bakir uulu, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights under the President of the Republic; Omar Sultanov, Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Muhtar Jumaliev, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will continue its consideration of the initial report of Kyrgyzstan.

Report of Kyrgyzstan

The initial report of Kyrgyzstan (document CCPR/C/113/Add.1) analyses the basic legislative instruments of the Republic, including the laws of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic and the former Soviet Union still in force. It also includes legislation adopted in the process of implementing the provisions of the Covenant. In its introductory part, the report provides the demographic composition of the population and gives a brief historical survey of the general political structure of the country.

The report also provides information on the implementation of the provisions of the Covenant on an article-by-article basis. In its conclusion, the report says that the country needs to create an effective mechanism to implement its obligations under the Covenant. On 5 July 1997, a Commission on Human Rights was established to create conditions for the exercise by the President of the Republic of his powers as guarantor of human and civil rights and freedoms. The country was also adopting appropriate measures aimed at realizing human rights and freedoms in practice.

Torture and ill-treatment had not yet been fully eliminated in Kyrgyzstan, the report says. Ill-treatment still existed in some places owing to an insufficient understanding of the legal system and rather low professional competence among some civil servants.

Introduction of Report

CHUBAK ABYSHKAEV, General Prosecutor of Kyrgyzstan, said his country was working towards democratization through the introduction of legislation that could allow the free expression of the population in its choice for durable socio-economic and political structures. In addition, a system of check-and- balance among the State powers had been instituted in order to guarantee the good governance of the nation. The country was currently building a modern society based on the rule of law and the respect for individual freedoms.

In the field of defending human rights, a commission had been established under the President of the Republic to promote and protect human rights, Mr. Abyshkaev continued to say. Further, other human rights committees had been created within parliament to oversee the meticulous implementation of the international covenants entered into by the State.

Mr. Abyshkaev said that the Government of Kyrgyzstan had also created a mechanism in which the rights of women were fully guaranteed within the society. Additional legislative acts had also been adopted by the State to strengthen the rights of women, including measures to eliminate any form of discrimination against women. In order to protect women from domestic and societal violence, the Government had taken further measures by reinforcing preventive mechanisms and by increasing police vigilance.

In addition to the guarantees provided for by the country's Constitution, practical measures had been taken to protect the individual integrity of citizens, Mr. Abyshkaev continued to state. Severe punishment was handed down against persons violating the fundamental freedoms and the human rights of individuals. The victims of such violations could bring their cases before the competent authorities.

No citizen was deprived of his or her rights under the Kyrgyz law without the due process of the law, the Prosecutor affirmed. Only the judiciary, which was independent of the executive, was competent to deprive individual rights. The law also guaranteed appeals. The criminal procedure law had improved the position of lawyers in their activities.

In conclusion, Mr. Abyshkaev said that the right to peaceful assembly was fully guaranteed by the law, including petition and association as part of free expression of opinion. The holding of a public demonstration required a written permission from the competent authorities ten days before it would take place. However, the right to peaceful assembly was not restricted except for reasons of public security.

Discussion

In response to the written questions prepared by the Committee's experts beforehand, the members of the delegation affirmed that international conventions which had been ratified by the Republic formed an integral part of domestic legislation and were directly applicable by the nation’s law. The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were also directly applicable by courts.

The role of the human rights commission was to assist in perfecting the mechanism for securing and protecting human and civil rights and liberties, the delegation said. It also developed collaboration with international organizations abroad working in the sphere of human rights and liberties. The State commission for the family and women dealt with the implementation of priority measures to resolve the most important issues facing women and addressed topics relevant to their rights and freedoms.

A state of emergency had not been declared on the territory of the Republic in recent years, the delegation affirmed.

On gender equality, the members of the delegation said measures had been under way to address problems of violence against women, including domestic violence and rape. The Government was also taking steps to increase the number of women actively participating in public affairs. Only 6 female deputies were represented in the country's legislative body; and one out of four judges were women. In addition, a women's democratic political party was run by women to represent their interests.

The death penalty was carried out only when serious crimes were committed, the delegation said. With the view to reducing the use of capital punishment, steps had been taken by decreasing the crimes for which it was prescribed from 11 to 6. A sentence of capital punishment might be imposed only for exceptionally grave crimes involving an assault on life. At present, a legal debate was going on with the view of repealing the death penalty. Already, a moratorium was in place concerning the application of the death penalty.

Asked about policies envisaged to address the problem of prison conditions, including lack of hygiene and medical treatment, inadequate nourishment and overcrowding, the delegation said prison institutions were not part of Kyrgyz tradition, they were inherited from the Soviet system. However, the Government was aware of the problems and had been engaged in a process that could improve prison conditions in general.

With regard to the subject of the right to a fair trial, the delegation said that constitutionally, the judiciary was an independent body. However, in practice, as a result of poor material provisions, judges sometimes became dependent on State agencies or on private individuals. In provinces, for example, court premises and judges's dwellings were allocated by the bodies holding executive power. The salaries of local court judges was on average $45 to $50, and for Supreme Court judges, it was $60 to $70.

In order to restrict the crossing of rebels from neighbouring Tajikistan, the Government had been applying a system of "propiska" -- governmental permission - - to resettle to or to travel in border regions.

Following the responses made by the delegation, Committee experts raised a number of questions on various issues. An expert wanted to know the manner in which complaints against mistreatment by militias was lodged to the competent authorities. The expert also mentioned that although the state of emergency was not officially declared, in some regions the treatment of citizens by the military could be compared to situations under a state of emergency. The delegation was asked to provide further information on that issue.

Another expert said that the pre-trial time limit was a positive matter in the judiciary system. However, upon the presentation of the accused before the court, the judge, instead of ruling on the accused person's acquittal or indiction, would return him to the prosecutor so that more evidence was collected. That process did not respect the principle of presumption of innocence. The expert wanted to know the number of cases treated as such.

Military tribunals were prosecuting civilians in violation of the guarantees provided for by the Constitution, an expert remarked, and asked for more information about the composition of the military courts. The widespread corruption in civilian courts was also underlined by the same expert, who said that the corruption could be attributed to the low income of judges.

Although a series of laws were enacted to protect the rights of women and to ensure their equality with men, their impoverished conditions did not allow them to attain their equality, an expert remarked. In addition, the trafficking of women for the purpose of exploiting them as prostitutes and cheap labourers abroad was not clearly dealt with in the report. The continued practice of forced marriage was also mentioned by the expert who asked the delegation if appropriate measures were taken to avert such situations. The issue of domestic violation against women was also raised made by the expert, who queried the delegation on the measures adopted by the Government to change the situation.

A question was asked about the destiny of the 60 persons on death row once the period of the moratorium had elapsed. In addition, concern was expressed that the practice of torture was a problem in the country, whose criminal code did not criminalize torture as an act of crime.

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