But Giffen cannot examine CIA documents

FREE MEDIA UNDER PRESSURE IN THE OSCE REGION -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 07, 2009)

Kazakhstan will not fully implement legal reforms recommended by the OSCE, Europe's top security and rights body, before taking charge of the organization in 2010, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

To discuss human rights in Central Asia without resorting to stereotype is a difficult prospect. The area's strategic value is unquestioned. Energy rich, at the nexus of Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan, quite literally the heartland of the continent, Central Asia remains vitally important to every great power on the planet.

Astana’s reform drive ahead of OSCE chairmanship disappoints opposition

Kasachstans Ratsvorsitz im Jahr 2010 bringt Menschenrechtler in Helsinki auf

Many NGO activists believe that Kazakhstan will not be ready for the OSCE chairmanship in 2010.

Kazakhstan has made only small progress toward democracy to justify its chairmanship of Europe's main security and human rights body in 2010 and should speed up its efforts, a leading rights group has said.

No Meaningful Improvements a Year After Chairmanship Term Is Promised

Internet users in Kazakhstan complained of censorship Friday after being unable to access the popular blogging service Livejournal, but the state-owned telecoms company denied it was blocking it.

Controversial President of Kazakhstan Backed for Nobel by US Lawmakers

Kazakhstan's president is considering ordering a snap parliamentary election
next year, setting the stage for more pluralistic political debate.

Driven by "petro-authoritarianism," the countries of Central Asia are thoroughly throttling democratization, according to an annual survey conducted by the watchdog group Freedom House.

Kazakhstan's president promised the West on Sunday his country would pursue democratic change before its chairmanship of Europe's main human rights watchdog in 2010.

The deputy chief of the U.S. mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kyle Scott, has told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service after his arrival in Kazakhstan that there are lingering concerns over that country's implementation of democratic reforms.

A year after the German EU presidency introduced the Strategy for Central Asia from 2007 to 2013, the European Commission (EC) published a draft of its progress report.

Kazakhstan's opposition accused the government on Tuesday of backtracking on pledges to bring more democracy ahead of the ex-Soviet nation's chairmanship of Europe's top democracy watchdog in 2010.

Propelled by a surge of oil and natural gas wealth, Russia has become the leading anti-democratic force in its region, a private democracy watchdog organization says.

Bush administration seeks to shortchange region on democratization aid