International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) have prepared a joint report for the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Kazakhstan. The UPR will be held under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council in January 2025.
The joint NGO report provides information about key issues regarding the protection of civic space and the freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Kazakhstan. It is based on ongoing cooperation by IPHR and KIBHR on monitoring and documenting developments in these areas in the framework of the CIVICUS Monitor global initiative.
During the previous UPR of Kazakhstan in 2019, the authorities received important recommendations on measures needed to improve the protection of fundamental freedoms and the situation of civil society.
However, five years later, serious concerns remain. The joint NGO report highlights the widespread lack of accountability for human rights violations related to the events of January 2022, when authorities harshly suppressed mass protests and ensuing unrest. It also documents how the political modernisation drive initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev after the January events has been undermined by ongoing persecution of government critics and opponents, as well as systematic violations of the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Additionally, the submission draws attention to individual cases of civil society activists, opposition supporters, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers who have been subjected to persecution.
Due to the deterioration in civic freedoms in connection with the January 2022 events, Kazakhstan’s country rating was downgraded on the CIVICUS Monitor. Kazakhstan’s civic space is currently assessed as ‘’repressed’’, with a score of 27 on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).
We urge UN member state delegations to prioritse raising the issues covered in the joint report during the upcoming UPR.
The joint NGO report can be downloaded here
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The UPR of Kazakhstan, scheduled to take place on 23 January 2025, will involve a review of the country’s human rights record based on information provided by the government, UN human rights bodies, as well as civil society organisations and other stake-holders. The joint IPHR-KIBHR report has been submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as input for a compilation of civil society concerns, which will serve as a key source of information for UN member state delegations taking part in the review. The review will be carried out through an inter-active exchange between Kazakhstan and member and observer states of the Human Rights Council and will end with the adoption of an outcome report listing recommendations to Kazakhstan.
