Sixtieth session Agenda item 112 (e) Elections to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other elections: election of 47 members of the Human Rights Council Note verbale dated 25 April 2006 from the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly The Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations presents its compliments to the President of the General Assembly and has the honour to remind him of the decision of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to present its candidature for one of the 13 seats allocated to the Asian regional group to the United Nations Human Rights Council at the elections to be held in New York during the sixtieth session of the General Assembly on 9 May 2006. The Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations has the honour to enclose herewith its voluntary pledges and commitments in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 (see annex). Annex to the note verbale dated 25 April 2006 from the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly Kyrgyzstan’s voluntary pledges and commitments on human rights Kyrgyzstan, which has supported the establishment of the Human Rights Council, firmly believes that this new body will make an important contribution to the strengthening of international achievements and towards constructive cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights issues on the basis of equity and equality in accordance with the main goals and principles stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations. Kyrgyzstan has never been a member of any human rights bodies, however, being a young and independent State, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, since its independence in 1991, is profoundly and firmly committed to the respect and effective promotion and protection of security, peace, development and all human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are key pillars of its national development and are embodied in the Constitution and other relevant legislative acts of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is a State party to the vast majority of the universal human rights treaties, including seven core United Nations instruments that have established monitoring mechanisms on their implementation: • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women • Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment • Convention on the Rights of the Child • International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families • First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights • Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women • Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict • Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Implementation of Kyrgyzstan’s commitments under the human rights treaties, including of those set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and in the human rights documents and treaties adopted within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is of crucial importance. Kyrgyzstan has recognized the competence of all respective treaty bodies to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals within its jurisdiction claiming to be victims of human rights violations. The Government of Kyrgyzstan has been closely cooperating with the special procedures mandate holders. It has extended invitations to various mandate holders on different issues and expressed its readiness to cooperate further with them in the years to come. At the national level, measures to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms includes the effective functioning, since 2001, of the office of national human rights defender (Ombudsman), the ongoing reforms of the judicial and penitentiary systems and regular amendments and revisions of the election and criminal codes, in accordance with recommendations of the international organizations. Particular attention is being attached to freedom of information and functioning of free and independent mass media, and recent developments in this field include the initiative to establish a separate office of ombudsperson on the mass media. At the international level, in line with its overall support to the United Nations activities in the field of human rights, Kyrgyzstan fully supported the reform of the existing United Nations human rights machinery, in particular the strengthening of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the replacement of the Commission on Human Rights with a stronger and more efficient Human Rights Council. Kyrgyzstan views the concept of dialogue in a broad sense of the word, comprising interaction with civil society, non-governmental organizations, special procedures, including dialogue among civilizations, and States with national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds. In this regard, Kyrgyzstan also welcomes the decision that the Council should serve as a forum for a dialogue on thematic issues on all human rights issues. Both at the national and international levels, Kyrgyzstan proceeds from the universality, interrelatedness, interdependence, indivisibility and mutual reinforcement of all human rights, civil and political on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other, including the right to development. Kyrgyzstan believes that there cannot be hierarchy among rights, and that equal focus should be placed on all human rights. In its future activities, Kyrgyzstan has the strong intention to continue to contribute to United Nations action in the field of protection and promotion of human rights. Kyrgyzstan stresses its commitment to actively participate in the work of the Human Rights Council in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation and to further support the strengthening of the United Nations human rights machinery, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The promoting of democracy, the rule of law and human rights represents one of the major pledges of Kyrgyz foreign policy. Kyrgyzstan has consistently supported international initiatives aimed at preventing and combating violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, developing existent standards and supporting Member States with the necessary assistance for the improvement of their human rights protection system. If elected, Kyrgyzstan would actively contribute to the work of the Human Rights Council proceeding from the necessity of realization of all human rights, including the right to development, as well as to strive for the rationalization of the system of special procedures. Kyrgyzstan will continue to place special focus on the promotion of gender equality and the advancement of women, as well as on the rights of the child and other vulnerable groups. At the national level, Kyrgyzstan reiterates its readiness to continue its cooperation with special procedures mandate holders and treaty monitoring bodies and to employ measures in line with their recommendations and concluding observations. Kyrgyzstan commits itself to submit all periodic reports on the implementation of international human rights instruments to the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Committee against Torture, on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the work of the First Committee on migrant workers, the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, through the current regional technical cooperation project on Central Asia, and new initiatives and to pay special attention and take the necessary steps regarding the recommendations issued by the treaty bodies. Kyrgyzstan pledges, at the international level, to take an active part in the work of the Human Rights Council through participation in the process of standard-setting for the protection of human rights and its contribution to new initiatives aimed at the amelioration of the human rights situation worldwide, as well as: • To continue to cooperate with the system of special procedures of the Human Rights Council and contribute to the process of strengthening and enhancing this system; • To promote human rights protection universally through human rights dialogues, exchange of experts, technical cooperation and advice. Kyrgyzstan strongly backs the efforts to strengthen the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including the doubling of its resources from the United Nations regular budget, in order to enable it to carry out its functions more effectively. Kyrgyzstan will seek, to the best of its ability, to make voluntary contributions to structures within the United Nations human rights system.   \* MERGEFORMAT 4 \* MERGEFORMAT 3 United Nations A/60/782/Add.1 General Assembly Distr.: General 28 April 2006 Original: English 06-33278 (E) 030506 *0633278* A/60/782/Add.1 A/60/782/Add.1