1. Kazakhstan’s Commitment to Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Extensive measures to improve human rights in Kazakhstan are set out in two current programs: the
National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012 and the Legal Policy Concept for 2010-2020. As these
policy documents are being implemented successfully, Kazakhstan is achieving a more efficient,
consistent and coordinated policy on human rights, with the involvement of Government, civil society
and international organizations. Kazakhstanhas already made progress that has brought Kazakhstan
closer to EU and OSCE standards, following comprehensive work on the reform of law enforcement and
judicial systems and in the area of human rights protection.
The National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012 has been developed jointly with Kazakh and
foreign NGOs. The Government is developing a National Human Rights Action Plan for 2013-2020, which
will be adopted after consultation with civil society.
Kazakhstan’s activity in the field of human rights is reinforced by a constructive dialogue with the OSCE
(ODIHR) on a number of issues related to enhancing democratic processes in Kazakhstan. The ODIHR’s
recommendations are being taken into account and many are being implemented and incorporated into
the texts of legislative regulations.
The Government and public organizations in Kazakhstan has also started implementing the guidelines of
the Social Modernization Program of Kazakhstan, initiated by the Head of State, with a focus on revising
legislation in the field of social care.
In 2011, Kazakhstan chaired a number of authoritative international organzations such as the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Kazakhstanis also
active within the UN and the OSCE Troika. During Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OIC a standing
Committee on Human Rights was established. This Committee will now enable us to form a platform for
dialogue and the exchange of views and experience on the issues of human rights and freedoms in all
member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Kazakhstan has successfully joined fundamental international human rights conventions and
agreements, which allow the Government to implement human rights protection mechanisms better.
Kazakhstan is pleased to has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council by a vote of the United
Nations General Assembly. Kazakhstan took up our membership on 1st January 2013 and will sit on the
Council until 2015. Kazakhstan pledges to lead not only from within the Council, but also at home, to
guarantee that universal human rights are protected and observed not just across the globe, but in
Kazakhstan too.
Kazakhstando not see our election to the Council as a badge of honour. Kazakhstansee it as an
opportunity to contribute to global efforts to make progress in this crucial field.
Kazakhstan has been actively supporting the work of the Human Rights Council. Our Minister of Foreign
Affairs takes part in an annual high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council.

2. One of the hallmarks of the Kazakh OSCE chairmanship in 2010 was the consistent work of the
Government with civil society and international experts. A clear demonstration of this collaboration was
the establishment of a Consultative Council on the OSCE Human Dimension in 2010, comprised of
officials, civil society representatives and international experts from the United Kingdom, United States,
Netherlands, Estonia and Germany. Following the completion of the Council’s work, the international
experts and civil society representatives expressed their gratitude for the formation of this essential
body and the possibility of having an open dialogue on the current and anticipated issues in the field of
human rights.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry announced the establishment of a Working Group on the Human
Dimension, which includes representatives of Government, political parties, and Kazakh civil society.
Kazakhstan also invited representatives and experts from international human rights organizations
accredited in Kazakhstan to this Group, including the Almaty Helsinki Committee, the Kazakhstan
International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Freedom House, NDI and others.
The first meeting of the Working Group on Human Dimension took place at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan on January 14, 2013. Importance of human rights issues and
affirmative work experience at the OSCE Consultative Council on Human Dimension under Kazakhstan’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was functioning in the year of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the
Organization, were the reasons to convene the Working Group on Human Dimension. As a platform for
dialogue between government agencies and public sector, the working group might also be helpful in
Kazakhstan’s UN Human Rights Council membership activity starting from January 1, 2013.
The session included representatives from government agencies, Parliament and political parties,
domestic and foreign NGOs. Among attendees were Adviser to the President of Kazakhstan
YermukhametYertisbayev, Commissioner for Human Rights AskarShakirov, Executive Secretary of the
Ministry of Culture and Information ZhannaKurmangaliyeva, Member of Mazhilis (the LoKazakhstanr
Chamber) of the Parliament AigulSolovyeva, Secretary of the Commission on Human Rights under the
President of Kazakhstan TastemirAbishev, prominent human rights activists – ZaureshBattalova,
YevgenyZhovtis, VitaliyVoronov, Sergey Zlotnikov, Tamara Kaleeva, BakhytTumenova,
ZhemysTurmagambetova, NinelFokina and others.
The meeting was an open dialogue with representatives of NGOs on human rights issues. Minister of
Foreign Affairs ErlanIdrissov opened the meeting by emphasizing the growing importance of human
dimension in implementation of Kazakshtan’s national policy. It is no coincidence that the head of state
in his Address to the nation on December 14, 2012 underlined the importance of focusing all our efforts
to increase the quality of human potential in Kazakhstan. Idrissov urged members of the session to
conduct a constructive dialogue on key issues of the agenda and asked representatives of the
government bodies and non-governmental organizations to learn to «listen and hear each other».
Director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law YevgenyZhovtis
expressed solidarity with this call, and mentioned that the increase in the living standards in our country

3. is the common goal for both the state institutions and the civil sector. He emphasized that it is necessary
to move from "opposition of individuals" to "competition of the arguments
" in order to ensure development of a more constructive dialogue between the government bodies and
NGOs.
Adviser to the President of Kazakhstan YermukhametYertisbayev mentioned recent substantive growth
in the number of NGOs registered in Kazakhstan. From his point of view, it indicates continuous
strengthening and qualitative development of the civil society in our country. Speaking about the
practical support of the civil sector by the government, Yertisbayev marked that during the
independence years, funding of non-governmental organizations from the republican and local budgets
grew more than twenty times.
Commissioner for Human Rights AskarShakirov on his part pointed out the timeliness of the decision to
convene this Working Group and expressed his hope for a fruitful work in all aspects of the human
dimension, including political, economic, cultural and other issues of the human rights area.
Participants were all positive with the initiative to form the Working Group. They also introduced a
number of proposals concerning the status and framework of the Group, on allocating the functions
among the key directions of its activities, and as a result developing "esprit de corps" in order to achieve
tangible results.
Over the meeting was a very successful and paved the way for a better constructive dialogue between
the Government and Kazakh and foreign human rights NGOs on issues related to the implementation of
international human rights agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, as well as the promotion of cooperation with OSCE institutions in the area of human rights. This
step, in our view, is consistent with the spirit of the Astana OSCE Declaration, unanimously adopted by
the Heads of 56 participating OSCE States in December 2010.
Kazakhstan is committed to continuing efforts to ensure that legislative and law enforcement practices
conform to international standards, and to guarantee the domestic tools of human rights protection.
Kazakhstanhas also moved quickly to tackle the underlying economic, social and human rights issues
exposed by the shocking unrest in Zhanaozen a year ago. Over the last year, Kazakhstanhas worked to
improve labor and employment conditions in Zhanaozen and introduced new legislation aimed at
addressing the wider problems highlighted by the tragedy to ensure that events like this don’t happen
again.