Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
OSCE Centre in Almaty

SPEECH GIVEN BY
BEATA MARTIN-ROZUMILOWICZ, OFFICER-IN-CHARGE
OSCE/EC ROUNDTABLE ON DRAFT MEDIA LAW
ASTANA, 9 MARCH 2004

Good morning Minister –
Distinguished colleagues – 
Ladies and Gentlemen – 

First of all, let me thank you for your participation in this joint roundtable on the mass media law organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty and the European Commission.  The group today is large indeed and reflects the wide interest in this issue.

I’m sure all of you recognize the importance that a new media law holds for Kazakhstan and its aspirations towards continued democratic reform.  The OSCE has been involved in many aspects of this process and it was felt that our input would be constructive as the parliamentary procedure draws toward a conclusion. It has been a long road since the law was passed to Parliament in August 2003.  

As many of you are aware, the OSCE generally refrains from comment while a piece of legislation is in the parliamentary procedure.  Rather, the OSCE seeks to lend assistance in the drafting process before a law goes to Parliament and then often provides analytical assessment of legislation once it is passed – to gauge the extent to which legislation is consistent with international standards and norms and to offer further assistance in bringing legislation into line with the obligations undertaken by OSCE participating States.  This issue is even more pertinent in light of Kazakhstan’s professed desire to Chair the OSCE in 2009.

As the OSCE often states, the laws of a country are for the citizens and their representatives in pluralistic parliaments of those countries to decide upon and it is they who should determine when and what type of law is required.  The OSCE continually supports initiatives of greater civic involvement in the legislative process.

In this case, the signals from civil society and various social organizations, both domestic and international, have been unequivocal and critical.  The decision, and a very difficult decision, before Kazakhstan at the moment is whether such a piece of legislation is necessary for the country at this point, whether such a piece of legislation would increase the freedom of media in the country, whether it would move forward the process of democratic reform which the country has taken upon itself.

We will today consider various aspects of this process.  In the first place, we will hear from members of Parliament, from political party representatives, and from non-governmental organizations how this piece of legislation has changed since its introduction into parliament and whether or not they consider the changes to be progressive.

Secondly, we have invited a representative from the renowned media freedom NGO Article 19 to give greater context to their most recent report from February on the draft media law in Kazakhstan.  Copies of this report have been circulated previously and participants will be given the chance to consider this report, and its recommendations, in greater detail over the course of this morning.

We will also shortly discuss the results of the last Congress of Journalists which took place in Atyrau on 19-20 February.  As many of you are aware, this Congress resulted in a resolution calling on Parliament to withdraw the law.

It is hoped that by the end of today, participants will have come to a consensus with regard to the media law and this will be reflected in a final statement from the Chair.

I hope today’s proceedings will provide greater insight and clarity into this issue, which is a fundamental building block of democratic society.  How Kazakhstan’s democratic house will look in the future will very much depend upon the type of media law it enacts today.