Embassy News
Human Rights Training for Prisoners in Astana, Kazakhstan
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| IVLP alumna –Anara Ibrayeva - has successfully completed a human rights training for prisoners in Astana. The project generated a great deal of media interest and was covered by several TV channels in Kazakhstan. |
On December 1, Anara Ibrayeva, an International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) alum from Kazakhstan and Director of the Astana branch of the International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule-of-Law, along with her colleagues completed a program that provided three weeks of training to over 500 prisoners who are serving sentences in Astana. The courses included topics such as how to appeal to international courts, how to be good parents, how to protect human rights, how to use computers, how to find employment.
The project was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy’s Democracy Outreach Alumni Grant program. The Ministry of Justice’s Committee on Criminal and Executive Systems (KUIS) partnered with the alumni to conduct this project. Both KUIS and the prisoner trainees were extremely impressed with the courses and expressed interest in working together though follow-on activities.
Anara was exposed to a similar training program in Florida’s prison system during her IVLP. She was impressed by conditions in U.S. prisons and by U.S. prisoners’ knowledge of human rights. The success of this project generated a great deal of media interest and was covered by several TV channels in Kazakhstan.
