On Thursday 14 March, MEPs urged the Kazakh authorities to put an end to human rights violations, all political repression and all forms of arbitrary detention, reprisals and harassment against human rights activists, civil society organisations and political opposition movements.
The European Parliament, by adopting the joint resolution of the Greens/EFA, ECR, GUE/NGL, ALDE, S&D and EPP groups on the human rights situation in Kazakhstan, calls for the full rehabilitation and immediate release of all imprisoned activists and political prisoners and the lifting of restrictions on the freedom of movement of other released political activists and prisoners who are still subject to movement restrictions.
Noting the ban on the peaceful opposition movement 'Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan', MEPs urge the government to stop such actions. They also call for the repeal of the provisions of the Criminal Code prohibiting "the dissemination of information known to be false", as it is used to prosecute and imprison civil society activists and journalists.
The Parliament hopes that the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), which it approved at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11924/3), can contribute to strengthening the rule of law and the democratic participation of all citizens, a more diverse political landscape, a more functional, independent and impartial judiciary, greater transparency and accountability of government and improvements in labour law. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)