In a joint statement, UN Watch intern Jordan Goldstein took the floor of the U.N. Human Rights Council to condemn Kazakhstan for its widespread human rights violations.
Full Speech:
Mr. Chair, we urge this Council to address the dire situation of human rights in Kazakhstan as documented in today’s report. We remain gravely concerned by the horrible police crackdown on mass protests in January 2022 which left more than 200 people dead, 2,600 injured, and 10,000 arrested.
There are credible allegations of torture and excessive force. And yet, more than three years later Kazakhstan has persistently refused an independent international inquiry into what has become known as Bloody January. Internal investigations have been demonstrably ineffective. The result? A pervasive climate of impunity.
Despite claims of democratic reforms and robust human rights protection peaceful assembly is arbitrarily denied. Activists frequently face preventative detention. Corruption is endemic. Parliamentary and presidential elections are neither free nor fair.
Dominant media outlets are either in state hands or owned by wealthy businessmen who are friendly to the ruling elite. Freedom of speech is restricted and punished.
Although Kazakhstan formally removed defamation from the criminal code in 2020 it was transferred to the administrative code punishable by up to 20 days of administrative arrest. The label may have changed but not the reality. Jail is being used to stifle dissent.
Vague laws on extremism are weaponized against civil society. Major segments of society face persecution, particularly ethnic minority groups and migrant workers who are often undocumented and frequently exploited.
Mr. Chair, it is time for the United Nations to demand that Kazakhstan adopt comprehensive legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
True human rights adherence demands real, verifiable change not just rhetoric. We ask the United Nations: When will you act for the people of Kazakhstan?
Thank you.
