Online event at the margin of the 49th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council
When: 28 March, 13.00 – 14.00 CEST; 17.00 – 18.00 Almaty time.
Please register here for this event.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have the pleasure to invite you to an online event on the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. The event aims to discuss the how the violent events in January 2022 have affected the human rights situation in Kazakhstan in general and to discuss some of the specific issues concerning fair trial rights and the situation of lawyers.
The event will present an opportunity to hear direct evidence of Kazakhstan’s leading human rights experts and lawyers on the most acute developments and challenges: access to justice, rights of those arrested, including issues concerning fairness of proceedings, concerns of defenders and legal representatives of those under arrest will be discussed.
States, IGOs, NGOs and other stakeholders are invited to take part in the event where brief reports will be followed by a Q&A session.
Background
In Kazakhstan, peaceful protests started on 2 January 2022, quickly spreading throughout the regions of Kazakhstan. On 6 January, as the situation further evolved into widespread violence, including shooting, seizure of governmental buildings, destruction of property and looting, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave an order to security forces to open fire with lethal force. A state of emergency throughout the country was introduced, as the events were qualified as an attempted coup d’état and attacks by terrorists. Although numbers cannot yet be confirmed, the violent clashes resulted in a reported 230 civilian casualties and 18 members of law enforcement, and many more injured.
Speakers
Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law
Daniyar Kanafin, Lawyer, Almaty Bar Association, Kazakhstan
Tatiana Chernobil, Human rights law consultant, Kazakhstan
