The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, with the support of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU), organized a two-day seminar for representatives of Kazakhstan’s governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations titled “Protection of Women’s Rights: International and European Approaches”, DKNews.kz reports.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko, Human Rights Commissioner of Kazakhstan Artur Lastayev, Head of the European Union’s Delegation to Kazakhstan Ambassador Kęstutis Jankauskas, as well as Project Coordinator of the Cooperation Programmes Division of the Council of Europe Krystyna Khokhlova delivered welcoming remarks to the participants of the event representing the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ministries of internal affairs, justice, culture and information, education, NGOs in the human rights protection sphere, along with a number of higher educational institutions.
Deputy Minister Vassilenko noted the progressive nature of the development of relations between Kazakhstan and the Council of Europe. Thus, to date, the Council of Europe’s Neighborhood Co-operation Priorities with Kazakhstan for 2019-2023 have been successfully implemented. Since their launch, Kazakhstan has joined three legal documents of the Council of Europe in the field of criminal justice related to laundering of the proceeds from crime and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters.
The Kazakh diplomat also informed that in June Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, is expected to pay a visit to Astana, where she will meet with the leadership of the country and participate in the Astana International Forum. As part of the Forum, the Council of Europe’s new Neighborhood Co-operation Priorities with Kazakhstan for 2024-2027 will be officially launched. “We are confident that in three years we will be able to reap the benefits of successful cooperation between all stakeholders along the path of systematic progress towards a common goal – strengthening human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” said Roman Vassilenko.
With regard to the state policy on human rights, the Deputy Minister emphasized that the Kazakh leadership attaches key importance to ensuring widespread respect for gender equality and the protection of women’s rights. In this context, he highlighted the new Action Plan on Human Rights and the Rule of Law, approved in December 2023 by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as well as the draft legislative amendments to the women’s rights and child safety legislation, which are currently under consideration by the Parliament.
Taking into account that the problem of protecting women’s rights and domestic violence is relevant worldwide, the importance of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), which is one of the main international legal instruments for the protection of women’s rights, was noted.
Human Rights Commissioner Artur Lastayev informed about the reforms carried out in Kazakhstan in the field of achieving gender equality and combating domestic violence, as well as about the development of a special report on this topic, while noting the persisting problems. “Unfortunately, the level of violence against women is still high, which is a serious obstacle to gender equality,” said the Ombudsman.
In their turn, the representatives of the EU and the Council of Europe emphasized the relevance of the seminar topics.
“Gender equality is about enabling every man and woman to fairly contribute to the economic and social life of society. Domestic violence and use of force against women and girls have no place in a just society,” said Ambassador Jankauskas.
“The conventions developed by the Council of Europe are key internationally recognized references for ensuring human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” noted Krystyna Khokhlova, stressing the importance of constant exchange of experience and improvement of legislation in human rights and other sectors.
At the end of the seminar, participants expressed a common view the event had provided an effective platform for exchange of opinions and raising awareness of key aspects regarding the issues of ensuring the protection of women’s rights and combating domestic violence.
