10 November 2022, Bologna. Today, at the invitation of the National Federation of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers of Italy - FederUnacoma, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Italy, Yerbolat Sembayev took part in the opening of the EIMA International 2022 - the International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition. The fair, comprising 14 product sectors, including specialised salons EIMA Componenti, EIMA Green, EIMA Energy, EIMA Idrotech and EIMA Digital, brings together machinery companies from around the world to present the latest world-class technologies.
On the margins of the exhibition, Ambassador Sembayev had a meeting with the President of the National Federation of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers of Italy Alessandro Malavolti. During the meeting, the parties agreed to expand the cooperation between Italian and Kazakh manufacturers and discussed the possibility of organising a similar fair in Kazakhstan.
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Italy also met with the management of the transnational corporation CNH Industrial Italia SpA, a world leader in the production of industrial goods. At the meeting, the company expressed its willingness to consider the possibility of production of its goods in Kazakhstan.
In addition, Yerbolat Sembayev met with Mirco Maschio, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Italian company Maschio Gaspardo. The company is a leader in the production of agricultural equipment for tillage, seeding, crop care, green maintenance and haymaking.
EIMA International is an international exhibition of agricultural and horticultural machinery, which has been held every two years since 1969 under the auspices of the Italian National Federation of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers. Around 2,000 exhibitors from 50 countries participate in the exhibition, offering visitors more than 50,000 models of machines, equipment and devices for all types of agricultural and horticultural activities.
Kazakhstan and the European Union have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic partnership in the field of sustainable raw materials, batteries and green hydrogen value chains.
The document was signed by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on the margins of the Summit of World Leaders of the Global Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.
In his speech, the Prime Minister noted the importance of the new memorandum.
"The signing of the document will create conditions for the establishment of financial and technological cooperation between Kazakhstan and EU industrial alliances. In general, our country has all the necessary attractiveness factors for European business, including diversified energy sources and high transit-transport potential," Alikhan Smailov said.
He also added that the European Union remains one of Kazakhstan's largest and most significant trade partners, accounting for about 30% of the country's foreign trade.
"At the same time, today we see significant potential for building investment cooperation and increasing mutual trade," the Prime Minister stressed.
In her turn, Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union is one of the biggest investors in the economy of Kazakhstan, and the Memorandum signed today would further expand these relations.
"In fact, we are opening a new chapter in our already deep relationship. The European Union and Kazakhstan have developed strong economic ties over the years. Together, we will work to strengthen the integration of our strategic production chains. This concerns the mining of rare earth elements, the production of batteries and green hydrogen," Ursula von der Leyen said.
According to her, these production chains are the engines of green and digital transformation around the world.
"We know, for example, how important batteries are for electric cars or renewable energy storage. Therefore, now is the right time to strengthen our cooperation," the European Commission President stressed, adding that the Memorandum of Understanding aimed at developing a long-term partnership.
Source: www.primeminister.kz
3 November 2022, Rome. The Italian Institute for Asia today hosted a seminar titled “The New Kazakhstan: Initiatives and Reforms”, which was dedicated to reforms in our country. The Italian political and expert community attended the event discussed the changes taking place in Kazakhstan and evaluated the cooperation between our countries.
Addressing to the participants of the seminar, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Italy Yerbolat Sembayev presented the experts with the key reforms taking place in the country, including measures on decentralisation of power, strengthening of the role of Parliament, reforming the electoral and judicial systems, strengthening of mechanisms for the protection of human rights, the development of local self-government.
“These changes should result in increased competition in the country’s political system and greater citizen participation in public administration. The system of relations between the state and society will also change, and protection of human rights and strengthening of national security will be key priorities for Kazakhstan”, - Yerbolat Sembayev stressed.
The Kazakh Ambassador also told the Italian experts about the measures aimed at deoligopolisation and demonopolisation of Kazakhstan’s economy, encouragement of private entrepreneurial initiative, a departure from state capitalism and excessive state intervention in the economy, development of competition, and fair distribution of national income.
Mario Morgoni, President of the Italian Institute for Asia, who took part in the seminar, noted that Kazakhstan had made a big step on its way to modernisation and renewal. He said these changes would create more opportunities both for Italy and Kazakhstan, and would contribute to strengthening partnership between the two countries.
In turn, a Member of Parliament from the Italian Democratic Party, Irene Manzi said that the reforms in Kazakhstan, including strengthening the role of Parliament, are very similar to those held in Italy. According to the Italian MP, the creation of the National Fund for Children would provide more opportunities for Kazakhs youth to study abroad and return to the country as ready specialists.
In general, the participants of the seminar assessed the reforms in our country positively and noted the high dynamics of relations between Kazakhstan and Italy.
2 November 2022, Rome. Today the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Italy hosted a briefing by Ambassador Yerbolat Sembayev for Italian journalists. The briefing was dedicated to the upcoming election of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and was attended by representatives of Italian media, such as Agenzia Nova, AdnKronos, Il Faro, InsideOver, Opinio Juris, Agenparl, Specchio Economico and others.
Addressing to the participants of the briefing, Ambassador Sembayev noted that the snap presidential election is dictated by the need for major reforms aimed at the further modernisation of Kazakhstan. Our country is changing rapidly, and it is important for our citizens to express their views on the future direction of the state development.
“The upcoming elections will be the most competitive in Kazakhstan’s history. Six candidates with different political views are running, giving voters a wide choice. In addition, for the first time in our history two female candidates are running the race to be elected to the office of the President. This is another important step in the ongoing democratic development of Kazakhstan”, - Yerbolat Sembayev said.
The Ambassador also noted that elections are a logical continuation of transformations already launched in the country, promote consistent democratisation and ensure sustainability of the state.
“The programme of political reforms proposed by President Tokayev opens a new stage in political development of Kazakhstan and is aimed at changing the whole state model and form of government of our country by limiting the powers of the President, strengthening the role of Parliament, increasing the participation of citizens in the political processes and further strengthening the protection of human rights”, - added the Kazakh diplomat.
Yerbolat Sembayev told Italian journalists in detail about reformatting the procedure for the formation and functions of the upper chamber of Parliament, the Senate, reforming the system of election to the lower chamber of Parliament, the Mazhilis, establishment of the Constitutional Court to protect the Constitution and review the powers of the President, removing barriers to the formation of new political parties, a total ban on the death penalty in the country and many other reforms.
Besides, Ambassador Sembayev presented the Italian media with the new economic course of Kazakhstan, where encouraging of private entrepreneurship, departing from state capitalism and excessive state intervention in the economy, developing competition, ensuring equal opportunities for all, equitable distribution of national income are considered as the main priorities.
Following the briefing, Ambassador Sembayev answered questions of the journalists.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sent a congratulatory letter to Giorgia Meloni on her appointment as President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic.
“This victory provides evidence of a high level of trust of your compatriots in you and in the policy of your coalition. Today Italy is a country of advanced economy whose authority is widely recognized both regionally and internationally”, the letter reads.
The Kazakh President expressed confidence that initiatives and plans to be implemented under the leadership of the new Italian Prime Minister would further strengthen Italy’s authority and make its future even brighter.
Noting that Italy is a true friend and one of Kazakhstan’s strategic partners in Europe, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev confirmed his readiness to make joint efforts to give a new impetus to the cooperation between our states.
The President of Kazakhstan wished Giorgia Meloni every success in her new position and wished happiness and prosperity to the friendly people of Italy.
We, the participants of the VII Congress - spiritual leaders of world and traditional religions, politicians, heads of international organizations,
guided by our shared desire for a just, peaceful, secure and prosperous world,
affirming the importance of shared values in the spiritual and social development of humankind,
recognizing the necessity of countering and overcoming intolerance and hate speech, xenophobia, discrimination and conflicts based on ethnic, religious and cultural differences,
respecting the richness of religious and cultural diversity,
realizing that acts of charity, compassion, mercy, justice and solidarity contribute to the rapprochement of peoples and societies,
recognizing the value of education and spirituality for personal and interreligious development
affirming the importance of the role and rights of women in society,
stating that material inequality leads to discontent, social tension, conflict and crisis in our world,
recognizing the importance of addressing global challenges in our post-pandemic world, including climate change, poverty and hunger; organized crime, terrorism, and drugs,
condemning in the strongest terms the extremism, radicalism and terrorism which lead to religious persecution and the undermining of human life and dignity,
condemning the creation of hotspots of interstate and international tension in the world,
expressing serious concern about the global increase in the number of migrants and refugees in need of humanitarian assistance and protection,
expressing a firm desire to contribute to the creation of conditions for dialogue and reconciliation between conflicting parties,
realizing the urgent necessity for spiritual and political leaders to work together in addressing the challenges of our world,
welcoming all international, regional, national and local initiatives, especially the efforts of religious leaders to promote interreligious, intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue,
expressing the intention to intensify cooperation between religious communities, international, national and public institutions, and non-governmental organizations in the post-pandemic period,
reaffirming the work of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions as an international interreligious dialogue platform for representatives of many religions, confessions and creeds,
pointing out the opportunity of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions for taking further specific steps to expand interreligious intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue,
* * *
This Declaration was adopted by the majority of delegates of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and is being transmitted to the authorities, political leaders and religious figures around the world, relevant regional and international organizations, civil society organizations, religious associations and leading experts. It will also be distributed as an official document of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
The principles contained in the current Declaration can be disseminated at all regional and international levels, for consideration in all political decisions, legislative norms, educational programs, and mass media in all interested countries.
MAY OUR ASPIRATIONS BE BLESSED
AND MAY PEACE AND PROSPERITY
BE GRANTED TO ALL PEOPLES AND COUNTRIES!
THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
NUR-SULTAN
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Imam Yahya Pallavicini’s statement at the Session 3
of the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
“The contribution of religious leaders and politicians to promoting global interfaith dialogue and peace and countering extremism, radicalism and terrorism”
Nur-Sultan
15 September 2022
Interreligious cooperation as the antidote to hatred and violence
Excellency Maulen Ashimbayev,
It is my honour to convey the best wishes and greetings of Peace to You, to the distinguished leaders of the Republic of Kazakhstan and to the blessed people of this beautiful land from Italy and from COREIS, the Italian Religious Islamic Community, as well as from EULEMA the European Council of Muslim Leaders.
Fraternity conjures up a familiarity, an intimacy, a union between two or more human beings by virtue of a common origin that both precedes and determines the existence of brothers and sisters, an origin that can be represented by the love of the same parents, or by certain people belonging to the same religious community or by obedience to a contemplative “confraternity”, by virtue of a call or vocation that follows a specific authorized rule.
People can be brothers because they are children of the same family as Cain and Abel or Ishmael and Isaac or Moses and Aaron and interpret this fraternity through fratricide or through noble lineage working to complement each other on a mission to give testimony to and adore the One God.
Pope Francis’ encyclical letter entitled “Fratelli tutti” (“All brothers”), alongside the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together (Abu Dhabi, 2019) clearly condemns all fratricide and violence, hatred and social injustice, especially in the name of the pretext of a religious reason or justification.
The two sons of the patriarch of Abraham’s monotheism, Ishmael and Isaak, have two almost parallel paths that never seem to meet: each is the son of Hagar and Sarah respectively and of the father and prophet Abraham, who seems to be the only thing the two brothers have in common. Yet both, upon the death of their father and after having buried him together, inherit his duty to pass on sincere worship to the One God and both will generate a blessed lineage of believers faithful to the teaching of the prophets despite episodes of fratricidal violence, civil disorder and political corruption occurring over the centuries. These are sacrilegious disorders precisely because they ignore the sacred nature of human life but also of prophetic fidelity.
Islamic doctrine describes both Moses and Aaron as prophets i.e. as elected to the service of guiding the people to react to the forgetfulness of God’s order and identity. Moses is also given the task of passing on a message, a Revelation, a sacred Law, to his people. His brother Aaron does not have this duty, but has the gift of supporting his brother’s mission with the quality of communication, language, speech, towards both Pharaoh and his own people, both to mediate against the arrogance of the King of Egypt and to calm the impatient minds of the Jews before reaching the Promised Land. The new cycle for this religious community will begin thanks to the asymmetrical competition of the two brother prophets.
This fraternity in prophecy, interpreted in an enlightened way by Moses and Aaron, is a teaching for the Muslim faithful to recognize the unity of prophecy and fraternity in the complex articulation and differences in roles to follow.
The history of Islamic civilisation also confirms these complementary elements between the two brothers of the al-Ghazali family, Abu Hamid Muhammad and Ahmad: the first becomes a spiritual teacher after a journey as a scholar, philosopher and theologian, while the other brother remains concentrated and solitary as an ascetic and mystic. While the first brother Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali is given the role of orthodox clarification and doctrinal renewal, both juridical and ensuring spiritual orientation for the entire Muslim community, we cannot fail to respect the great religious devotion and inner concentration of the second brother.
Yet how can we deny the combination of the qualities of both brothers for common enlightenment? Be careful not to fall into the trap of exalting one brother by virtue of his fame or of idealizing the other brother out of a presumed elective affinity.
Respecting fraternity does not, in fact, mean defending Cain no matter what, or justifying the envy of the brothers of the prophet Joseph who stage his death, turning his father, the prophet Jacob, blind with pain, or exalting Aaron’s qualities of understanding and communication, or acting as rivals over the primacy of promise and sacrifice, to be associated with Ishmael or Isaac.
Fraternity can never be respected if the defence of a weakness is flaunted and, due to incorrect compensation, there is a tendency to scale down and relativize the strength of faith of another brother. If this were the case, this “compensation” would in actual fact undermine the fraternity, to the detriment of its sacral identity and the Order of God, to promote a “fraternal” communion devoid of reference to the tradition of prophecy, without love for the father and for the nature and purpose of religion.
The Revelation of the Quran contains various passages in which the believer is called upon to react to the negative potential of man, who has the ability to corrupt the nature of Creation and of humanity and to spread blood, hatred and violence, miserably betraying the primordial pact with his Lord. According to some Muslim exegetes, this is the “reason” that would justify Iblis, Satan, in his disobedience to prostrate himself before the first man, Adam: how can a being of “light” bow down before a being of “mud”? Does God really propose such a contradiction? Since then humanity has been tempted into pride in mastering the world by forgetting or associating individually with the Lord of the Worlds. To convert believers back to the “True Religion”, God cyclically sends His prophets and messengers and heirs.
On one hand, therefore, traditional sources remind us of the virtue of the elect who overcome the mystification of doctrine and, on the other hand, remind us of the awareness of the dark and perverse sides of the soul in the decadence of times. It is paradoxical that some worshippers of sacred texts seem to be radically disinterested in these two operational aspects, election and purification, manipulating religion into a game of power or juridical moralism.
In the inspired awareness of this profound intellectual crisis, Pope Francis meets, talks and testifies with other spiritual authorities, the Israeli rabbis, Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Kirill, Imam al-Tayyeb and Ayatollah al-Sistani. He presents an integral fraternity without claiming to represent it in an absolute let alone relative way, but he is open to recognizing a sacred dignity that his colleagues interpret as authoritative servants of the Spirit and teachers of a blessed religious expression of the same Christian family or of the same family of Abraham.
Alternatively, there is respect for doctrinal and theological jurisdictions and the relative temporal, national and cultural declinations. These “stations of fraternity” experienced in the course of his eight years of pontificate and travels are accompanied by the three encyclical letters Lumen Fidei, Laudato sì and Fratelli tutti.
Pope Francis’ intuition to suggest as a rule in one of his sermons that “no one is saved alone”, citing the image of a boat in which we are all forced together has, perhaps, the value of a test of humility for the Christian people, but also of a common fraternity among “all” believers in the call to eschatology, to the meaning of faith and of life, before death. Is this image not perhaps also a common religious perspective in all doctrines? And so, in light of the signs of the times, this fraternity cannot fail to be a religious and spiritual alliance in which every believer needs to purify himself of the weights and superstructures that risk sinking the boat or excluding him from the Ark of Seeds of the Seven Laws of Noah.
The Pact between God and man is the fulcrum of this Ark of the Covenant which must be inhabited by custodians of Tradition who are loyal to the sacred, sensitive to the action of Metaphysics, to the transcendence and immanence of God.
It is certainly a sacred, interreligious fraternity because it assumes, at the end of time, a character that truly embodies migration, liberation, illumination, elevation and extinction in satisfying a taste for the presence of God.
This is why the search for an election and purification can only be found among observant believers who share an affinity for humble service and sincere contemplation. These last words, contemplation and service, play the role of supporting and protecting the path to stations unveiling fraternity in traditional life, in the community and in the world, awaiting the return to the beginning.
Even in the history of Islamic civilisation, contemplative orders have helped to preserve and retransmit the intellectual renewal of a rule of spiritual support and protection to cultivate the Way to Know God. And this election will not be able to be fulfilled if no barrier is placed, even at external level, to the rampant madness of polytheism and idolatries where everyone invokes and believes in their own mental and emotional construction of divinity, without any tolerance but with hatred and violence against the other believer and citizen.
We too are convinced, as Pope Francis writes in his encyclical letter that “Truth in fact, is an inseparable companion of justice and mercy.
God is one and the same for everyone, but religions are different. If we truly make of God “the highest possible conception” by avoiding confining Him in one particular idea, we can accept that His revelation is inexhaustible. Thus, Muslims find the Quran the teaching the God’s message to humanity is always the same, but it takes on different forms to adapt to the characteristics of the peoples to whom it is addressed.
These differences are therefore providential since they enable us to grasp a universal metaphysical message in specific and adapted doctrinal and ritual forms. The origin of this diversity escapes us and can only be resolved in God. There can be no “rational solution” to the apparent inconsistencies between the dogmas and rites belonging to Christianity and Islam. While waiting (to return to God) we are invited to compete with one another in doing good!
Prophet Muhammad said: “I am the closest of the people to Jesus in this life and in the Hereafter. There is no prophet between me and him. The prophets are paternal brothers. Their mothers are different, but their religion is one.
Imam Yahya Pallavicini
President of the Italian Islamic Religious Community (COREIS)
Nur-Sultan, 1 September 2022 – Today, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, delivered a major Address to the Nation. The speech addressed the programme of reform and political modernisation towards a New Kazakhstan, as well as the socio-economic development of the country.
The President announced a series of fundamental and comprehensive political reforms, continuing the process of decentralising political power.
This included the recommendation that a Presidential term limit of one term of seven years be introduced, and the announcement of snap presidential elections this autumn.
President Tokayev cited the importance of securing a “new democratic mandate” for the “successful implementation of fundamental and comprehensive reforms, on the way to creating a fair Kazakhstan”.
As part of this process of ensuring public participation, the Head of State also announced that elections to the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) and Maslikhats (local representative body) will be held in the first half of 2023. The President emphasized that “within the framework of political modernisation in our country, the development of parliamentarism occupies a central place”, and that that “all institutional changes envisaged by the constitutional reform must be legislatively completed by the end of the year”.
Referring to the major political reforms announced in March, which dramatically expanded the space for new political parties, the President hoped that these reforms would “intensify political competition, and contribute to the emergence of a new wave of national deputies.”
Addressing another major theme of the New Kazakhstan reforms, President Tokayev also renewed his commitment to strengthening the rule of law in Kazakhstan. He announced that reforms of the judicial system, and particularly of the Supreme Court, would remove “governmental pressure on judges”. Tokayev also spoke the importance of prioritising competence throughout the judicial system, stressing that all judges “must be highly qualified, honest, and free from corruption.”
Focusing on the socio-economic development in Kazakhstan, the Head of State stressed that “we will radically change the relationship between citizens, business, and state, adding that “first and foremost, the state provides everyone with equal opportunities and ensures justice.” He noted that the priorities of the new economic course will be stimulating private entrepreneurial initiative, moving away from state capitalism and excessive state intervention in the economy, the development of competition, the provision of equal opportunities for all and fair distribution of the national income.
President Tokayev announced several new initiatives aimed at increasing quality of life for citizens across Kazakhstan. These included increasing the minimum wage for over 1.8 million citizens, ensuring stable and affordable lending to the real sector, allocation of land to entrepreneurs, building medical centres in 650 villages within two years, which would provide access to primary health care for more than a million citizens.
Turning to the priority of education, a key building block for Kazakhstan’s future economic success, President Tokayev announced establishment of the National Fund for Children. From 1 January 2024, 50% of the annual investment income of the National Investment Fund will be allocated to special savings accounts for children until they reach the age of 18. This will then be used to purchase housing and receive education when children turn 18, as well as other initiatives. The President also instructed to direct the money seized from corrupt officials to the construction of schools.
The leader of Kazakhstan also touched upon the transit potential of the country, stating that “Kazakhstan is a very important land corridor between Asia and Europe in the current geopolitical situation. We must take full advantage of this opportunity and become a global transportation hub.”
Commenting on the tragic January events this year, the President announced an amnesty for protestors facing criminal charges.
Explaining his decision, he said: “Both those who participated in the protests and members of law enforcement agencies are our citizens. Some of those who broke the law have acknowledged their guilt. I think it's best to treat them with forgiveness.” Tokayev noted that the amnesty will not apply to those accused of terrorists, extremists and torture, and that these extremely serious crimes will be considered by the judicial system.
Concluding his Address, President Tokayev emphasized that “the creation of a Fair Kazakhstan is just beginning. This course is unwavering and will continue regardless of any circumstances of an internal and external nature.”
Rome, 21 August 2022 - Today the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Italian Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Relations between the two countries have reached an unprecedented level over these years, including an open and fruitful dialogue, growing bilateral trade, broadening of the legal framework and strengthening of multilateral cooperation. Signing of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership in 2009 was a landmark event for Kazakh-Italian relationship.
Today large-scale political reforms are taking place in Kazakhstan. The President of Kazakhstan proposed a programme of reforms focused on modernising the political system, improving mechanisms for the protection of human rights and building a “New Kazakhstan”. In this context, dynamic relations with the Italian Republic make a substantial contribution to the implementation and promotion of reforms in Kazakhstan.
The Italian Republic is one of the largest trade and investment partners of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is an important partner of Italy in Central Asia. Italy has invested more than $15 billion in Kazakhstan’s economy over the last 30 years.
Following the first half of 2022, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Italy reached $8 billion. The key areas of trade and economic cooperation are energy, exploration and extraction of natural resources, construction, infrastructure, transport, communications, agriculture, science and technology. More than 250 Italian companies successfully operate in Kazakhstan.
An Intergovernmental Task Force for Industrial and Economic Cooperation and Exchange, as well as the Kazakhstan-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group were established to develop bilateral contacts.
Given similar views on key issues of the international agenda, the two countries have established trustworthy relations within the framework of international organisations. Kazakhstan and Italy stand for strengthening the engagement between the two countries on the world stage based on the principle of mutual respect.
Inter-regional cooperation is developing dynamically. Since June of this year, a permanent air route between Milan and Almaty has been launched by the Italian airline company Neos.
In the cultural and humanitarian dimension, cooperation in education, library service and research is expanding. As part of the 175th anniversary of Abai Kunanbayuly, the “Book of words” and poems of the great philosopher have been translated into Italian language. The centres of Kazakh culture and literature are operating at the Ambrosiana Library in Milan and at the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.
Kazakhstan and Italy have close political, economic and also historic ties, rooted in the past of the Great Silk Road and travels across the vast expanses of the Great Steppe by the famous Venetian merchant Marco Polo.
Kazakhstan is determined to continue conducting a foreign policy with the aim of comprehensive strengthening and development of strategic partnership with Italy.
Nur-Sultan, April 2, 2022 - The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) welcomes Kazakhstan's ratification on 24 March 2022, of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.
In a statement, ICDP President Navi Pillay noted that Kazakhstan's ratification of the Second Optional Protocol "is an international reaffirmation of its commitment to the total abolition of the death penalty and follows the country’s abolition of the death penalty for all crimes and without any caveats on December 29, 2021. Thus, Kazakhstan has made an important step which moves the Central Asian region closer towards becoming a death penalty-free region. This important decision is special as the country is an important member state of the ICDP’s Support Group. Thanks to this historic decision of Kazakhstan, worldwide abolition of the death penalty is closer today than ever before."
At the same time, the Commission positively noted the proposal of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, voiced in his recent State-of-the Nation Address to the People of Kazakhstan "New Kazakhstan: the Path of Renewal and Modernization", on making appropriate amendments to the abolition of the death penalty in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was emphasized that "such a constitutional amendment will further consolidate Kazakhstan’s abolition of capital punishment and end this cruel inhuman punishment that has no place in the world today."
Kazakhstan is one of the founders of the Support Group of the ICDP. The Commission's work is supported by a geographically diverse group of 23 member states committed to the abolition of the death penalty. Its Secretariat is based in Madrid and is responsible for the day-to-day work of the Commission.
On March 2, 1992, the Republic of Kazakhstan was accepted as a member of the United Nations at the plenary meeting of the 46th session of the UN General Assembly, thereby becoming a full-fledged actor of international relations.
As a responsible and reliable member of the international community, Kazakhstan has been pursuing a balanced, predictable and constructive foreign policy for all the 30 years of its independence. The country is fully committed to supporting the central role of UN in solving pressing global issues.
By voluntarily abandoning the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal, Kazakhstan has made a real contribution to maintaining peace and international security, disarmament and strengthening the nonproliferation regime for weapons of mass destruction. The date of closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on the territory of Kazakhstan - August 29 - was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly, in December 2009, as the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
Kazakhstan is a co-founder of the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in Central Asia. At the initiative of Kazakhstan, the UN General Assembly resolution “The Universal Declaration on Achieving a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” is adopted on a regular basis. The Declaration demonstrates the determination of all states to move step by step towards a nuclear weapons-free world.
In September 1992, from the rostrum of the UN, Kazakhstan put forward a proposal to convene the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which today has become a real factor in ensuring security and cooperation, uniting 27 countries of the Asian continent. Given the growing demand for confidence building measures, Kazakhstan is working with partners to transform CICA into the Organization for Security and Development in Asia.
Kazakhstan has ratified all 19 universal counter-terrorism conventions and protocols and takes an active part in implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. At the initiative of Kazakhstan, in September 2018, a Code of Conduct was developed and presented for signing to achieve a world free of terrorism. As of today 89 countries have joined to the Code.
Since 2017, Kazakhstan has hosted 17 rounds of the Astana Process on Syria aimed at facilitating UN efforts to resolve the protracted conflict. Kazakhstan was also one of the first to repatriate its citizens, primarily hundreds of children and women, from conflict zones in the Middle East.
Kazakhstan is making a feasible contribution to the efforts of the world community to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan. Humanitarian assistance is regularly provided to the Afghan population, national and international programs are being implemented to train Afghan youth, including girls, in educational institutions of Kazakhstan. The opening of a Temporary Remote Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Almaty is recognition of the role of Kazakhstan and the Organization's trust in our country.
Kazakhstan is convinced that promoting an ideology of tolerance, mutual understanding and cultural diversity is the key to combating hatred and discrimination. Hosted in Kazakhstan since 2003, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which was attended by the United Nations Secretary-General, the heads of the Alliance of Civilizations and UNESCO, is an example of interfaith dialogue. The VII Congress will be held in September 2022 in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan actively participates in UN peacekeeping activities by sending peacekeepers and military observers to various UN missions and provides peacekeeping courses recognized by the UN.
The election of our country to the UN Security Council in 2017-2018 was a recognition of the committed work of Kazakhstan in the field of strengthening peace and international security.
In order to strengthen the system of control over biological risks and threats, and to promote biological developments to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, put forward an initiative to create an International Agency for Biological Safety.
The Republic of Kazakhstan contributes to international efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In keeping with this objective, a national architecture for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been created.
Despite its high dependence on fossil fuels, Kazakhstan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
In order to assist the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan in promoting the SDGs, the KazAID Official Development Assistance Agency was established in 2020. To coordinate development activities in the Central Asian region, we propose to institutionalize the UN Regional Center for SDGs in Almaty.
Kazakhstan attaches particular importance to the observance of universal human rights and freedoms. Our country has acceded to all the fundamental documents and conventions of the United Nations in the field of human rights protection. Ongoing efforts are being made to bring national human rights legislation in line with international standards. Close cooperation with the relevant UN institutions ensures that our international obligations are in accordance with the highest norms. The election of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN Human Rights Council, for the term 2022-2024, confirms the commitment of our state to promote fundamental human rights and freedoms at the national and international levels.
Presently, the efforts of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and our people are aimed at building an economically stable, socially just and democratically developed state – a new Kazakhstan, based on the principle of “leaving no one behind”.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its membership in the United Nations, the Republic of Kazakhstan reiterates its firm commitment to the Charter of the Organization and the principles of international law. The UN remains indispensable as the only universal organization serving the interests and urgent needs of all of humankind.
Kazakhstan will continue to contribute to strengthening the role and authority of the UN and to all areas of its activity to implement our collective desire for a better and happy future.