UNITED NATIONS Press Release 8 June 2004 The United Nations Commission on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, will conduct an official mission to the Republic of Kazakhstan from June 11 to 17. This is the first visit by a Special Rapporteur to the country. The Special Rapporteur intends to study the progress made to date regarding the criminal justice system and to follow up on issues such as independence of the judiciary, access and equality in the justice system and promotion of human rights in the court system. The Special Rapporteur sought an invitation to visit Kazakhstan at the beginning of this year; the Government extended the invitation in February. During the mission the Special Rapporteur will visit Almaty and Astana. In Almaty he will meet with international organizations, judicial and bar associations, academics and non-governmental organizations. In Astana, the Special Rapporteur has requested to meet with various ministers of the Government, including foreign affairs, justice, interior, education, internal affairs, the Constitutional Council, the President of the Supreme Court, judges from the Oblast and Rayon courts, the General Prosecutor's Office, the National Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman's Office. The Special Rapporteur will submit his findings and recommendations to the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights next spring. Mr. Despouy, President of the Auditorķa-General of Argentina, which audits the country's public service, was appointed Special Rapporteur in September 2003. He has extensive experience in human rights and international humanitarian law and has held a number of high-level positions in the United Nations and the Government of Argentina.
[Reply to this message] [Start a new topic] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index] [Subject Index] [List Home Page] [HREA Home Page]