The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Kazakhstan
on 17 and 18 November in sessions that will be webcast live.
Kazakhstan is one of the 156 States parties to the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and
is required to undergo regular examinations of its record before the Committee of
10 independent experts.
The Committee will engage in a dialogue with the Kazakh
Government delegation and also hear from NGOs.
Public sessions: 10:00-12:00 (15:00-17:00 Almaty time)
on 17 November,
15:00-18:00 (20:00-23:00 Almaty time) on 18 November
Venue: Palais Wilson, Geneva
Live webcast: http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.
Among the possible issues to be discussed: use of torture
and ill-treatment, including sexual abuse and rape, by law enforcement officials;
legal safeguards for those arrested; use of unofficial places of detention and interrogation;
independence of the judiciary and lawyers; violence against women in custody; conditions
in detention facilities; deaths in custody; human trafficking; investigations into
allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in particular against National Security
Committee; hazing (dedovshchina) in the military.
Further information and Kazakhstan’s report are available
at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=930&Lang=en.
The Committee will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 28 November.
A news conference is scheduled for Friday 28 November at
14:00 at Palais des Nations in Geneva when the Committee will discuss its concluding
observations on Kazakhstan and the other countries being reviewed – Sweden, Ukraine,
Venezuela, Australia, Burundi, USA and Croatia.
For more information and media requests, please contact
Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ ethrossell@ohchr.org
To learn more about the Committee against Torture, please
visit: http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx
