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Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law

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Kazakhstani human rights organisation

The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) is a non-governmental organisation that advocates for human rights in Kazakhstan. It has been described as the "leading human rights organisation" in the country, and has faced opposition from the Kazakhstani government since its formation in 1993.

History

Establishment and mission

KIBHR was founded in 1993 by a group of Kazakhstani human rights activists, with the support of the American non-governmental organisation, the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. As of 2019, the KIBHR is based in Almaty, and has regional offices in Aktau, Aktobe, Astana, Karaganda, Kostanay, Oral, Oskemen, Pavlodar, and Shymkent. Its current director is Yevgeny Zhovtis.

KIBHR's mission statement includes the protection of the fundamental human rights of people living in Kazakhstan, including freedom from torture and ill-treatment. In addition to public advocacy work, it also promotes human rights through education, data collection, and analysis. KIBHR is divided into difference offices with their own tasks and goals, including the Human Rights Centre; the Information and Monitoring Centre; the Educational Centre; and the Volunteer Centre.

KIBHR also works alongside other Kazakhstani rights organisations, notably as part of the Coalition Against Torture, through which it monitors the use of torture in detention centres in 12 of Kazakhstan's 16 regions. Internationally, KIBHR has been a member of the International Federation of Human Rights since 2013.

KIBHR is often publicly critical of the Kazakhstani government. Its report on the 2019 presidential election found it to be irregular, and in July 2022, it joined 10 other international human rights organisations to call on the government to launch a fully independent investigation into the January Events.

State opposition

On 4 November 1999, a fire broke out at KIBHR offices, destroying much of its paper documents. Members stated at the time that they considered the fire to be a deliberate act of arson. A similar incident occurred on 15 August 2005, when KIBHR offices were again broken into and looted, resulting in the theft of 10 computers and the loss of almost all of the organisation's electronic records. The timing of the incident, shortly before the presidential election, led to concerns that the attack involved Kazakhstani authorities.

On 3 September 2009, KIBHR's director, Yevgeny Zhovtis, was sentenced to four years in prison by the Balkhash District Court in Almaty on charges of manslaughter after hitting a pedestrian with his car. Human rights organisations described his trial as "flawed" and accused the judge of ignoring evidence that suggested the incident had been an accident; Zhovtis was subsequently released from prison on 17 February 2014 after being granted amnesty.

On 25 January 2021, KIBHR was among three human rights organisations that were placed under a three-month suspension by the State Revenue Office of Almaty after being accused of failing to properly disclose having received foreign donations. Zhovtis criticised the suspension as being politically motivated, stating that KIBHR was exempt from the Entrepreneurial Code due to its status as a non-governmental organisation. KIBHR was ultimately fined ₸2.3 million. Front Line Defenders accused the Kazakhstani government of harassing the KIBHR and other human rights organisations through its tax mechanisms, and stated that KIBHR had been targeted solely due to its human rights activism.

References

  1. Kazakh: Адам құқықтары мен заңдылықты сақтау жөніндегі Қазақстан халықаралық бюросы, romanized: Adam quqıqtarı men zañdılıqtı saqtaw jönindegi Qazaqstan xalıqaralıq byurosı, AQmZSJQXB; Russian: Казахстанское международное бюро по правам человека и соблюдению законности, romanized: Kazakhstanskoye mezhdunarodnoye byuro po pravam cheloveka i soblyudeniyu zakonnosti, KMBPCh
  1. ^ "Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHR)". World Organisation Against Torture. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR)". FORUM-ASIA. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  3. "Казахстанское международное бюро по правам человека и соблюдению законности: 20 лет на страже прав человека" [Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law: 20 years of guarding human rights]. Pravo i SMI Tsentralnoy Azii (in Russian). 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. Amanzholova, B. A.; Polyanskaya, A. Y. (2015). "Уголовно-правовой аспект характеристики преступлений совершенных по мотиву настиональной, расовой, религиозной ненависти" [Criminal legal aspect of the characteristics of crimes committed on national, racial, and religious hatred]. Nauchnaya Diskussiya (in Russian). 8 (36): 66–70. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via eLibrary.Ru.
  5. Aliyeva, I. Z. (2012). "Права ребенка в законодательных ахтах Республики Казахстан" [Rights of the child in the legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan]. Prava Cheloveka Kak Vyssheye Dostoyaniye Chelovechstva (in Russian): 386–390 – via eLibrary.ru.
  6. "Новый международной бюро FIDH избран на 38-м конгрессе в Стамбуле" [New FIDH International Bureau elected at the 38th Congress in Istanbul]. International Federation for Human Rights (in Russian). 27 May 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. "Қазақстан 2020: Адам құқықтары жөніндегі баяндама" [Kazakhstan 2020: report on human rights]. U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Kazakhstan (in Kazakh). 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. "Kazakhstan: Joint Statement on January 2022 events". Human Rights Watch. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. Kamalova, Nozima; Vitaliev, Vitaly; Shields, Akeisha, eds. (2006). Ugrozy, napadki, aresty i pritesneniya, kotorym podvergayutsya pravozashchitniki [Threats, attacks, arrests and harassment, to which human rights defenders are subjected] (PDF) (in Russian). Dublin: Front Line Defenders. ISBN 0-9547883-4-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. Balaeva, Anna (17 August 2005). "Заявление Казахстанского международного бюро по правам человека и соблюдению законности" [Statement by the Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law]. ZONAKZ (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  11. "Казахстан: Правозащитник Евгений Жовтис приговорен к четырем годам тюрьмы" [Kazakhstan: human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovits sentenced to four years in prison]. Fergana (in Russian). 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  12. "Kazakhstan: Review Rights Defender's Harsh Sentence". Human Rights Watch. 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  13. Soz, Adil (23 March 2012). "Editor Igor Vinyavsky released". IFEX. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  14. "Unprecedented crackdown on human rights organisations in Kazakhstan". Front Line Defenders. 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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