Tokayev’s order to “shoot to kill without warning” violates Kazakhstan’s international legal obligations

The order to “shoot to kill without warning” as part of the so-called “anti-terrorist operations” that are now being carried out in Kazakhstan must be immediately canceled, according to a report by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.

Such measures, as noted in the organization, “violate the international legal obligations of Kazakhstan and the right to life of its citizens.”

HRW also noted that the authorities should “use force only as a last resort,” and relevant agencies should “ensure prompt, independent and thorough investigation of any allegations of violence and unlawful killings.”

“Kazakhstan is facing its worst crisis since independence, and the world is watching to see whether the government demonstrates that it respects the fundamental rights of its people. It is imperative for the Kazakh authorities to ensure that all security forces on the ground act to protect human life and are held accountable if they do not, ”explains Letta Tyler, Deputy Director for Crises and Conflicts.

Representatives of the leadership of the United States, the European Union, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have repeatedly appealed to the authorities of Kazakhstan to resolve the situation in the country by peaceful means.

Tokayev announced that the country had given an order to shoot “to kill without warning” on January 7 in the morning.

“What kind of negotiations can there be with criminals, with bandits? They need to be destroyed. This will be done in the near future, ”he explained, completely excluding the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The militants should be “destroyed,” the president summed up.

For the sixth day, protests caused by a sharp increase in prices for liquefied gas have not abated in Kazakhstan. The rallies began on January 2 in Zhanaozen, later the residents of the city were supported in many other settlements. By the evening of January 4, protests, to which the majority of people come out with political demands, covered most of the country, on January 5, the republic’s authorities appealed to the CSTO countries with a request to send troops.

On January 6, the “cleansing” of Kazakhstani cities by security forces began, the authorities called it an “anti-terrorist operation. To date, it became known about the detention of more than 4 thousand protesters or “terrorists”, as they are called by representatives of the country’s Interior Ministry.