ASTANA - Kazakhstan summed up the achievements of its three-year membership in the United Nation's Human Rights Council (HRC), resulting in the adoption of two resolutions - on children's rights in education and on the elimination of domestic violence - in Geneva on Dec. 10, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's press service.
Over the past three years, Kazakhstan has held a number of key events on gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty and the protection of the rights of persons in vulnerable situations in the context of climate change. The country has joined the efforts of the Central Asian States, the European Union and other strategic partners.
UN HRC adopted a resolution on children's rights in education at the 54th session held last October. It aims to ensure quality education, peace and tolerance to eliminate discrimination, and safe access to education, including for children affected by armed conflict.
The resolution laid the foundation for the first panel discussion at the UN HRC in September 2024, where the integration of repatriated children from conflict zones through education was addressed, alongside broader issues of children's rights. Next year in June, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will also present a report on the topic.
This year in October, during the 57th session of the UN HRC, the first resolution on the elimination of domestic violence was adopted. The resolution draws the attention of the global pandemic of domestic violence, calling on the international community to address this critical issue.
With Kazakhstan's resolution, the HRC for the first time recognized domestic violence as a human rights issue and urged all states to take concrete measures to prevent and eliminate domestic violence, protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
To further address the issue, the council decided to include it in its work plan for 2025 and to hold a UN panel discussion on the prevention and elimination of domestic violence. Following the discussion, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will present a comprehensive report with concrete recommendations on how to address the structural and underlying causes and risk factors to prevent domestic violence.
In addition to its initiatives, Kazakhstan was invited to be one of the main sponsors of UN HRC resolutions on promoting a culture of peace (Gambia), on technology-facilitated gender-based violence (Belgium), on the right to free education (Luxembourg) and on the social reintegration of former prisoners (Costa Rica).
Drawing the attention of the international community to these issues was based on Kazakhstan's priorities in the field of human rights, stemming from the reforms undertaken by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
All of Kazakhstan's initiatives, despite the different positions and approaches of UN member states, were adopted by a unanimous decision of the UN HRC and received broad support in the form of co-sponsorship by countries from all regions of the world, including the United States, China, Russia, India, Canada, Switzerland, the European Union, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Kazakhstan's active work in the global forum has been accompanied by major transformations in the country's human rights system, including the re-establishment of Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court, the abolition of the death penalty and accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the criminalization of domestic violence and the adoption of two national plans on gender equality.
The high regard in which our country's contribution to strengthening global cooperation on human rights issues is held by the main UN actors reinforces Kazakhstan's role as a so-called "middle power."