by Aigul Kasymova (06/12/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The 108th Session of the UN Human Rights Committee is scheduled to take place July 8-26, 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. During the session, the committee will review Kyrgyzstan, where the human rights situation has changed significantly since its last review 13 years ago. Kyrgyzstan has experienced two revolutions leading to the overthrow of two governments and the establishment of a Parliamentary system, and a violent inter-ethnic conflict between ethnic Kyrgyz and the Uzbek minority in southern Kyrgyzstan in the summer of 2010. The session will also review two other post-Soviet states, Ukraine and Tajikistan. The last review of Kyrgyzstan by the UN Human Rights Committee took place in July 2000 during its 69th session in Geneva. 

by Tavus Rejepova (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On April 12, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov approved a new Concept of Electric Power Industry Development of Turkmenistan for 2013-2020 and promised to invest US$ 5 billion into the sector to boost electricity exports by a factor of five. 

by Georgiy Voloshin (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On May 22 and 23, Kazakhstan’s capital hosted two high-level annual events that have already become a local tradition. On Wednesday, President Nazarbayev chaired the 26th meeting of the Foreign Investors Council which is comprised of representatives of government bodies in charge of the country’s economic development and foreign companies actively investing in Kazakhstan. It was established in 1998 and initially included only 11 permanent members. Fifteen years later, the Council has expanded to 27 permanent members and also counts several observers on its board, such as the CEO of Glencore International plc Ivan Glasenberg. While Kazakhstan’s economy has attracted massive investment from hundreds of foreign entities during the past twenty years, the Council is open exclusively to the largest investors whose gross input is measured at US$ 500 million for those operating in the energy sector and at least US$ 125 million for non-extractive fields.