A top OSCE official says Kazakhstan's human rights record is a challenge to its forthcoming presidency of the group.
But Janez Lenarcic, chief of democratic institutions and human rights for the group, says Kazakhstan should also improve its record after it assumes the Organization for Security and Cooperation presidency in January.
Lenarcic said Wednesday that Kazakhstan is "in the stage of developing democracy" and its presidency will nudge it in the right direction.
Lenarcic spoke at an OSCE foreign ministers' meeting in Athens.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says Kazakhstan has recently dealt blows to media freedoms and the rule of law, and should be pressured to improve its record before January.
Associated Press
