KAZGUU University Higher School of Law has run a Human Rights Week as part of the III International Youth Legal Forum, titled “Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights”. This year’s Forum was supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the Soros-Kazakhstan Foundation, and has been held in the format of a winter school.
In 2017, student teams from many countries took part in the forum, including Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz State Law Academy, International University Ala-Too), Belarus (Belarus State University), Ukraine (Shevchenko Kiev National University), Georgia (S. Rostaveli Batumi State University), and Kazakhstan (KAZGUU University, L. N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, Almaty Management University, Kazakh Al-Farabi National University).
On 11 December, the Forum was opened by KAZGUU Rector, T. M. Narikbayev; Ambassador, Head of the OSCE Programmes Office in Astana D. Sabo; and Programme Director of Soros-Kazakhstan A. Aidarkulov.
Part of the forum were masterclasses by MediaNet group; Aliya Kulubekova, C.J.S., Director of Kulubekova & Partners; Abylayuly Abay, Head of the Department of International Legislation and Comparative Law; and Y. A. Gusakov, Director of the Karaganda branch of the Kazakhstan Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law.
The fourth day of the Forum began with the finals of the competition section. According to the results of the two rounds, 4 teams representing Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Georgia passed to the final. The students presented their projects to 5 independent judges, answered the jury’s questions.
The second part of the final day of the Forum was marked by an expert panel discussion in which Head of the National Center for Human Rights Ospanov Serik Zhamekovich, Director of the Department of Registration Service and Organization of Legal Services of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Atagazieva Bakytgul Saparovna, Director of the Institute of Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tukiev Aslan Sultanovich, Chairperson of the Eurasian Human Rights Center Nurgalieva Enlik Nurgalievna, Director of the Karaganda branch of the Kazakhstan Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law Yuriy Gusakov, Professor, of KIMEP University School of Law Sayapin Sergey V., and international trainer and consultant in the field of human rights Kuzminich Eagar.
At the end of the Forum, the official award ceremony was held by Isabella Hartmann, Head of the Human Dimension of the OSCE Office in Astana. Based on the decision of the five judges, the team from Kyrgyzstan including Aliyev Temirlan, Askarbekova Aybek and Nurmambetov Nursultan (Kyrgyz State Law Academy) took the third place; the team from Georgia (Mariam Oragvelidze, Salome Karalidze and Nika Svanidze, S. Rustaveli Batumi State University) and the Bularus team (Skshidlevska Elzhbeta, Tereshko Sabina and Kharlanova Galina) shared the second place with equal number of points. The first place was won by a team from Kazakhstan including Murat Assel, Abdumanova Sabina and Arturova Madina (KAZGUU University).