Kazakhstan's call on the world community to eliminate domestic violence has been widely supported at the UN

Geneva, October 10, 2024 - during the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a resolution submitted by Kazakhstan and calling on the international community to eliminate domestic violence, was unanimously adopted. A document shedding light on the global problem of violence, occurring "behind closed doors", was considered at the UN human rights platform for the first time. The work on it was carried out jointly with the fraternal republics of Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The focus of the world community's attention on this problem is based on Kazakhstan's priorities in the human rights sphere, which originate from the reforms carried out by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In particular, the law on the criminalization of domestic violence adopted in April 2024, stimulated the promotion of this initiative on the global platform of the UN Human Rights Council.

Through the Resolution, the Human Rights Council recognized for the first time that domestic violence is a human rights issue and called on all States to take concrete measures to prevent and eliminate domestic violence, protect victims and ensure accountability for perpetrators.

In order to further contribute to the elimination of domestic violence and draw the attention of the international community to this issue, the Council decided to include it in its Work Plan for 2025 and 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 specific recommendations on how to address the structural and underlying causes and risk factors to prevent domestic violence.

Despite the difference in the positions and approaches of the UN member states on combating domestic violence, the HRC Resolution submitted by Kazakhstan received wide support in the form of co-sponsorship by more than 60 countries, including the United States, China, the European Union, Latin American, Asian and African states.

During the adoption of the resolution, key actors of the UN human rights platform, including France, Germany and Belgium on behalf of the European Union, as well as the United States, China, Japan, Brazil and others, spoke in support of the Kazakhstan's initiative, highly appreciating our country's work in the HRC.

The resolution was adopted by a unanimous decision of the Human Rights Council and became another success in our country's efforts on the multilateral platform of the United Nations.

This year Kazakhstan completes its second three-year membership in the UN Human Rights Council, firmly reaffirming its commitment to human rights values and making a significant contribution to their strengthening at the global level.