Kazakhstan's human rights record came under fresh criticism on Wednesday as the former Soviet republic prepared to take over the chair of Europe's top security body for the first time from Greece. Officials at a meeting of the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Athens said the central Asian state had made some progress but urged it to use its turn at the helm to improve its democratic institutions.
"Clearly there is a challenge for the incoming chairmanship, whether it will be able to lead by example," the head of the group's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Janez Lenarcic, said as the OSCE held its last top-level meeting before Kazakhstan formally takes over on January 1. Human rights groups have criticised the decision to hand the chair to Kazakhstan, pointing out that OSCE observers have not validated a single election in the oil-producing state, and urged members to push harder for reforms.
"In the two years since Kazakhstan was awarded the chair, its human rights situation has seriously deteriorated, especially in the areas of freedom of expression, religion and assembly," said Vera Tkachenko, representing a coalition of human rights groups, including Freedom House. Human Rights Watch also urged OSCE foreign ministers to push Kazakhstan harder. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was a member of the last Soviet politburo and has been in power ever since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.