Factsheet on the Consultative and Advisory Body “Dialogue Platform for the Human Dimension”

Factsheet on the Consultative and Advisory Body “Dialogue Platform for the Human Dimension”

Factsheet on the Consultative and Advisory Body

“Dialogue Platform for the Human Dimension”.

 Overview

The Consultative and Advisory Body “Dialogue Platform for the Human Dimension” was set up at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in 2013. 42 meetings have been held since its establishment.

The Dialogue Platform, which meets on a quarterly basis, is moderated by the Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

Objectives and purpose of the Dialogue Platform

  • Enables effective engagement between the government and Kazakhstan’s civil society on the issues of human rights and democratic reforms
  • Identifies systemic problems and develops joint solutions together with domestic and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are based in Kazakhstan
  • Discusses draft national reports on implementation of international human rights obligations

All recommendations received from UN Convention Committees and national NGOs on human rights have been combined into 50 road maps.

The participants of the Dialogue Platform include:

  • Representatives of NGOs
  • Government officials
  • Members of parliament
  • Ombudsman on human rights
  • Ombudsman on children’s rights
  • Commission on human rights under the President of Kazakhstan

 

Observers of the Dialogue Platform include:

Foreign NGOs, international organisations, foreign diplomatic missions

Background information on NGOs and civil society in Kazakhstan

  • 22,000 NGOs are registered in Kazakhstan as of December 2020 – an increase of 17,000 compared to 2003
  • In 2020, the Government of Kazakhstan allocated 305.4 million tenge ($740,000) to directly promote the development of civil society in the country
  • The Concept for the Development of Civil Society in Kazakhstan until 2025 was adopted last year. Its aims include:
  • strengthening the system of partnership between the state, business and civil society
  • increasing the stability of Kazakhstan’s civil society
  • facilitating political transformation and modernisation in Kazakhstan