Kazakhstan – 28/10/2007

Issue 3.2007

Kazakhstan signs [first] Optional Protocol to ICCPR

During his recent visit to New York to attend the 32^nd session of the UN General Assembly, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed a number of international documents on behalf of Kazakhstan. The most significant event for civil society was the signing of the [first] Optional Protocol to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The Protocol entitles individuals to international protection of the rights enshrined in the ICCPR. In particular, the Protocol confers on the UN Human Rights Committee the power to receive and consider individual communications about violations by States Parties of any of their obligations under the ICCPR. However, the Human Rights Committee may only receive those communications which concern States Parties to the ICCPR that have recognized the competence of the Committee and are, accordingly, parties to the Protocol. It is worth mentioning that the ICCPR was signed by Kazakhstan on 2 December 2003,1 ratified on 24 January 20062 and entered into force for Kazakhstan on 24 April 2006.3

Under Kazakh law, the Protocol must be ratified by Parliament before it becomes effective in Kazakhstan. Past practice indicates that it generally takes about a year for the procedures connected with the ratification of an international treaty to be completed (introduction to, and ratification by Parliament, signing by the President,, deposit of the instrument of ratification and entering into force of the treaty, which under the terms of the Protocol will occur three months after deposit).  Complaints about violations by Kazakhstan of any of the rights enshrined in the ICCPR may be received and considered in the framework of the individual communications mechanism of the UN Human Rights Committee only after Kazakhstan completes all formalities connected with the ratification and entering into force of the Protocol for Kazakhstan. After the Protocol enters into force, individuals subject to the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan who fail to receive adequate protection of their rights at the national level will be able to send communications on violations of any of the rights contained in the ICCPR directly to the UN Human Rights Committee. Adoption of the Protocol is therefore a significant step in the effort to promote and ensure individual human rights in Kazakhstan.

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1 This is the date on which the ICCPR was actually signed. For a formal decision to sign the ICCPR, please see the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N 1227 of 15 November 2003 “On the signing by the Republic of Kazakhstan of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”

2 This is the date of the deposit by Kazakhstan of its instrument of ratification. Source: Official website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Available at: <http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/> [date accessed: 8.10.2007]. See Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan N 91-III of 28 November 2005 “On ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

3 According to Article 49, para. 2, of the ICCPR, for each State ratifying the Covenant or acceding to it the Covenant enters into force three months after the date of the deposit with the UN Secretary General of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.

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This Newsletter is a regular publication of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law originally produced in the Russian language for distribution among NGOs and NGO lawyers in Kazakhstan. In limited cases, however, an English translation of the newsletter may be distributed beyond the designated target group where the issue covered in the newsletter is deemed to be of interest to a broader audience.