A/HRC/43/2
2.
Views expressed by Member and observer States of the Council on the outcome of the
review
685. During the adoption of the outcome of the review of Kazakhstan, 13 delegations made
statements.**
686. Sri Lanka commended Kazakhstan for accepting 214 of the 245 recommendations. It
also welcomed the legislative amendments adopted in November 2019 aimed at improving
access to birth registration procedures and seeking to ensure that every child is registered at
birth. Sri Lanka hoped that the enactment of the draft law on family and gender policy issues
will strengthen protection for women against all forms of discrimination.
687. UN Women commended the efforts made by Kazakhstan to advance gender equality
and women’s empowerment and for its leadership role in Central Asia. As a leader, it urged
Kazakhstan to criminalize all forms of violence against women, ratify the Istanbul
Convention, adopt legislation to combat sexual harassment in the workplace and ensure that
the definition of rape in the Criminal Code is in accordance with the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. With regard to women’s
economic empowerment, it urged the Government to eliminate the list of jobs in which
female employment is prohibited and to provide social protection benefits for women
involved in unpaid care work. It also urged Kazakhstan to ratify the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and expand access to sexual and
reproductive health services for women with disabilities and HIV/AIDS. It encouraged
Kazakhstan to strengthen the legal protection of LGBTQI people and build a dialogue with
the LGBTQI community in the country.
688. UNICEF commended Kazakhstan to accepting many child rights recommendations,
and in particular, the commitment to address all forms of violence against children and to
explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children. It also commended Kazakhstan to have
accepted to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a
communications procedure. It regretted that Kazakhstan only noted the recommendation to
ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers
and Members of Their Families that would have granted protection to migrant children
against violence, exploitation, abuse and trafficking.
689. UNFPA commended Kazakhstan for the progress made in advancing gender equality,
for its decision to ratify the Istanbul Convention and for prioritizing prevention against
domestic violence. It hoped the multi-sectorial response to gender based violence could be
expanded to additional regions of the country. It also acknowledged the efforts made by the
Government to ensure protection and better integration and equality of opportunities for
persons with disabilities. It encouraged Kazakhstan to pay particular attention to violence
against women and girls with disabilities and to ensure that the sexual and reproductive health
and rights are protected in law and in practice, based on the principle of leaving no one behind
and the principle of “listening state” proclaimed by the President of Kazakhstan. It
encouraged the involvement of persons with disabilities in the development of the
programmes affecting them.
690. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela acknowledged the efforts of Kazakhstan to
deliver on its human rights commitments. It highlighted that Kazakhstan guarantees a free
and compulsory secondary education, under the principle of everyone's right to a quality
education. It was pleased with the measures to help citizens to find jobs, such as employment
** The statements of the delegations that were unable to deliver them owing to time constraints which
were made available are posted on the extranet of the Human Rights Council, at
https://extranet.ohchr.org/sites/hrc/HRCSessions/RegularSessions/43session/Pages/default.aspx
GE.
107
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