OSCE/ODIHR Director discusses prospects for future co-operation with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

WARSAW, 13 June 2003 - During a visit to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan this week, the Director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Ambassador Christian Strohal, discussed prospects for future co-operation with the two Central Asian republics.

In his meetings with representatives of the two governments, and leading members of the opposition and civil society, the ODIHR Director discussed the democratic reform processes and human rights situation in both countries, as well as preparations for the forthcoming cycle of elections in the region. He also reviewed ongoing activities carried out by the ODIHR in the two countries and discussed possible new fields of co-operation.

While in Kazakhstan, the ODIHR Director delivered a speech on the development of national human rights systems at the Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum organized by the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly in Almaty on 7-9 June.

Ambassador Strohal was also able to visit Sergei Duvanov, the Kazakh journalist and human rights defender who was sentenced to several years in prison earlier this year following a trial that was characterized as seriously flawed by observers. The ODIHR and the OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media have repeatedly called for the release of Mr. Duvanov, whose case is currently under review.