During the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a group of MEPs have signed the declaration on "Political reform in Kazakhstan responsive to the needs and ambitions of its citizens".
In PACE document 15387, dated 30 September 2021 (written declaration, no. 729, https://pace.coe.int/en/files/29508/html ), PACE deputies "welcome the decision by the Kazakh authorities to abolish the death penalty entirely by signing the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights".
Commending the statement of the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, the Europeans deputies emphasize that the decision he adopted is "in keeping with the values and principles of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe" and " shows the determination of Kazakhstan to combat this cruel penalty and follow the growing abolitionist trend".
European parliamentarians referred to Kazakhstan as an "important partner of the Council of Europe" in the context of the second part of "Neighbourhood Co-operation Priorities for Kazakhstan" adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the CoE on 4 April 2019.
The declaration was signed by 23 deputies of the PACE from Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Finland. Some of the signatories are the leaders of major political groups within the PACE.
By the press service of MFA RK
