Nur-Sultan, 11 March, 2021 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan held another extended online meeting of the Consultative and Advisory Body “Dialogue Platform on Human Dimension”, chaired by Ambassador-at-Large Usen Suleimen.
The event was attended by Kazakh human rights NGOs, members of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, Secretary of the Human Rights Commission under the President of Kazakhstan, Ombudsman on Human Rights and Children’s Rights in Kazakhstan, representatives of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Council, relevant ministries, as well as international partners – the UNDP, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE, the European Union, US and Canadian Embassies, USAID and the Penal Reform International.
In his opening remarks, the chairman of the meeting noted that today Kazakhstan is entering a stage of development, when the support and proactive position of civil society is a necessary component of the successful implementation of the reform program within the framework of the “listening state” concept.
“The President expects from us not behind-the-scenes discussions with rolled down sleeves, but active support in the implementation of his plans. The agenda is not simple, since it affects the further trajectory of the country’s political development”, Suleimen noted in this regard.
The participants reviewed the draft Law on Public Control and proposals for amendments and additions to the current legislation in connection with its possible adoption.
In addition, they also discussed the preparation for the defense of Kazakhstan’s report on the fulfillment of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the implementation of its provisions in legislation and in practice, as well as on the fulfillment of the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of the fight against terrorism and the new rules of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism.
An equally important topic of discussion was the need to elaborate and adopt a separate law on the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) in Kazakhstan.
Discussions of the agenda items were open and constructive, with development of specific proposals for further interaction between government bodies and NGOs on these issues.
