THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PACKAGE OF POLITICAL REFORMS

I.   Improving the legislation on rallies (corresponds to clause 1 of the table).

     On May 25, 2020, the Head of State signed into law a conceptually new legislation on organizing and conducting peaceful assemblies.

      This law is a part of the political reforms package of the President and is an important step in the evolutionary development of the political system of Kazakhstan.

     For the first time, President Tokayev announced the need for a liberalization of the legislation on peaceful assemblies in his State of the Nation Address of September 2, 2019.

     On December 20, 2019, the Head of State at a meeting of the National Council of Public Trust outlined his principled stance and noted that “we should begin to introduce the notification principle for organizing rallies”.

        As you know, the 1995 Law was of a framework nature. The main legal regulation was assigned to maslikhats, which led to various legal regulations in different regions of the country. This flaw in the legislation facilitated the establishment of various requirements by local representative bodies.

        For example, the maslikhat of Nur-Sultan only established areas where peaceful assemblies can be held, while in other regions there are separate rules and requirements established for additional regulations of rallies. At the same time, it should be noted that the 1995 Law had fulfilled its historical mission.

       The new law has established uniform rules for holding peaceful assemblies in all regions of the country. The main objective of the new law is to create conditions for the free expression of the will of citizens and most importantly to give them an opportunity to be heard.

The main provisions of the law:

First. Adoption of a conceptually new law.

The 1995 Law was of a framework nature.

The main legal regulation was assigned to maslikhats, which led to various legal regulations in different regions of the country.

The new law will establish uniform rules for holding peaceful assemblies in all regions of the Republic.

Second. Introducing the notification procedure for peaceful assemblies.

For the first time ever, the legislation introduces a notification procedure for holding peaceful assemblies.

A notification procedure for holding peaceful assemblies will cover pickets, rallies and assemblies.

The notification will not require any response from the local executive bodies and will be considered agreed upon by default.

In addition, during the discussion of the draft law in the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the deadlines for submitting and considering notifications were noticeably reduced.  The deadlines are now 5 business days for submitting a notification and 3 business days for considering them.

Third. Possibility of picketing in any places, except for places prohibited by law (6).

The current law and decisions of maslikhats limited the possibility of holding peaceful assemblies, including pickets, to areas designated by maslikhats.

      The draft law has established that picketing can be carried out anywhere, with the exception of mass graves, strategic and military installations, territories adjacent to the residences of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation.

      Thus, single pickets can be held anywhere, at any facility - including the buildings of central government bodies and local executive bodies - which will allow citizens to be heard by authorities.

      It should be noted that not all countries allow picketing by government authorities, for example, some states of the USA have established “quiet zones”.

       In Austria, holding assemblies within a radius of 300 meters is not allowed during meetings of the National Council, Federal Council, Federal Assembly or Parliament.

     In the German federal state of Bavaria, there is a restricted area around the building of the Parliament where holding assemblies and rallies is prohibited.

     In Latvia, holding rallies and pickets closer than 50 meters to the Presidential Residence and buildings of the Saeima, the Cabinet of Ministers, courts, prosecutors, foreign diplomatic and consular missions is prohibited.

Fourth. Introduction of the conceptual framework to the draft law.

      One of the drawbacks of the current law is the lack of clear regulation of the forms of peaceful assembly.

     In addition, one of the reproaches made to the Republic of Kazakhstan by international organizations was that when decisions were made to deny peaceful assemblies, the local executive bodies, for example, presented the same requirements for an assembly or picket as for a demonstration or march.

      In this regard, a conceptual framework will be introduced.

     This will allow the establishment of key concepts, such as peaceful assembly, rally, picket, assembly, demonstration, march and to distinguish between them.

    The introduction of a conceptual framework will make it possible to exclude unreasonable requirements to the forms of peaceful assemblies.

Fifth. Introduction of the basic principles of peaceful assemblies to legislation, including:

1) non-violent nature;

2) legitimacy;

3) ensuring national security, public order, health, protection of rights and freedoms of others;

4) voluntary participation;

5) presumption in favor of holding peaceful assemblies;

6) liability of the parties.

     The key point here is that the principle of presumption in favor of holding peaceful assemblies, which means that in the absence of justified reasons for restricting or prohibiting a peaceful assembly, a peaceful assembly should take place.

Sixth. The period for submitting and considering notifications has been reduced.

The current law provides that the deadline for submitting an application is 10 business days before the day of the assembly and the deadline for consideration by local executive bodies is 5 business days from the date of receipt.

The draft law provides that a notification of a picket, rally or assembly is submitted 5 business days before the day of the assembly and that the consideration time is 3 business days.

Thus, the time period has been reduced by 2 times.

Seventh. Establishment of an exhaustive list of reasons for denying peaceful assemblies.

The current law contains a vague list of reasons for denials of peaceful assemblies.

The draft law enshrines a comprehensive list of reasons for denying peaceful assemblies, such as if their purpose is to forcibly change the constitutional system, violate the integrity of the Republic of Kazakhstan, undermine national security, incite social, racial, national, religious, class and tribal hatred, violate other provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, laws and other regulatory legal acts, if there is a threat to national security, a threat of public order violation or a threat to life and health of others;

It should be noted that the denial must be motivated and justified and specific reasons for the denial of peaceful assemblies must be indicated.

Eighth. Consolidation in the law of the status, rights and obligations of initiators and participants of peaceful assemblies.

The current law does not distinguish between participants and initiators and does not determine their rights and obligations - it only sets prohibitions.

The law only provides prohibitions.

In this regard, the draft law defines the status, rights and obligations of initiators and participants.

Ninth. The obligation of government agencies to assist in holding a peaceful assembly.

The draft law includes that government agencies shall assist the initiator in holding a peaceful assembly.

Thus, for example, law enforcement bodies will ensure the protection of public order, medical staff will provide medical assistance if necessary and the fire department will ensure fire safety.

Tenth. Maintaining a register of designated areas on the Internet resources of local executive bodies.

The draft law establishes that peaceful assemblies, with the exception of picketing, shall be held in designated areas.

The draft law provides that these designated areas will be allocated in the central parts of settlements and will comply with safety requirements. The main purpose of establishing designated areas is to be heard by the authorities.

Moreover, the amount of these designated areas is not limited by the draft law and can comprise of dozens of such places depending on the need.

Since the decisions of maslikhats on the approval of designated areas are normative legal acts, the establishment of the list of designated areas will be widely discussed with the public. It will be reviewed by public councils and the discussion procedure will be held on the Open NLA portal.

Eleventh. Maintaining a register of designated areas by local executive bodies.

One of the drawbacks of the current law was that citizens were denied holding peaceful assemblies in the event of the areas being occupied.

In order to avoid such situations and inform the citizens, the draft law accounts for local executive bodies to have to post information on the availability of these areas on their Internet resources so that citizens are informed about the possibility of holding peaceful assemblies.

The introduction of designated areas will allow:

1) to enhance the culture of organizing and conducting peaceful assemblies;

2) to ensure the availability of designated areas for freedom of expression, as these areas will be designed for peaceful assemblies;

3) to ensure the public safety of participants and initiators of peaceful assemblies;

4) the initiators and participants to use infrastructure facilities;

5) to ensure compliance with sanitary norms and regulations.

In turn, according to the draft law, the pickets are allowed to be held in any places not prohibited by the law.

Twelfth. Establishing the right of citizens to appeal against actions of government agencies in the draft law.

The current law did not provide for a regulation on the possibility of appealing against actions of government agencies, for example, in the case of a denial of a peaceful assembly.

The draft law provides for such a right.

Additional information.

Regarding the persons entitled to organize and hold peaceful assemblies

According to Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have the right to peacefully and without weapons gather, hold assemblies, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets.

In accordance with the resolution No. 12 of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 1, 2003 “On the Official Interpretation of Articles 10 and 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, the rules of paragraph 4 of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan that states that “foreigners and stateless persons enjoy rights and freedoms in the Republic, and also bear the obligations established for citizens, unless otherwise provided by the Constitution, laws and international treaties” means that there is a different, limited, constitutional legal status provided for foreigners and stateless persons.

Foreigners are not subject to the rights and freedoms provided for in Article 33, paragraph 2 of Article 41, paragraph 4 of Article 51, paragraph 3 of Article 86 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Foreign citizens cannot exercise other rights and freedoms due to the requirements of the Constitution, laws and other regulatory legal acts, as well as in cases stipulated by international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Thus, the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan does not provide for vesting foreign citizens with the right to organize and participate in peaceful assemblies.

Regarding the age limit for initiators of peaceful assemblies

Article 15 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of the child to the freedom of association and the freedom of peaceful assembly.

This Convention clearly states that a child may exercise the right to participate in peaceful assemblies.

However, the Convention does not directly establish that a child has the right to organize peaceful assemblies.

Meanwhile, international experience has shown that the age limit of the initiators of peaceful assemblies is observed in the laws of Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Azerbaijan, that is, the initiator must be a person who has reached the age of 18.

Regarding the suspension and termination of peaceful assemblies

The draft law provides grounds for suspension of a peaceful assembly. This rule is necessary in order to provide an opportunity to the initiator of a peaceful assembly, independently or together with a representative of the local executive body, to eliminate violations that do not pose a threat to human life and health.

With the elimination of the violation, the holding of peaceful assemblies as agreed between the initiator and the representative of the local executive body continues.

In turn, if the violation has not been eliminated after the time established by the representative of the local executive body, the peaceful assembly must be terminated.

Regarding the ban on wearing materials hiding the faces of participants

The subject of the regulation of the draft law is public relations aimed at implementing the right of citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan established by the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan to gather peacefully and without weapons, to hold assemblies, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets.

Thus, the need for violence and, as a consequence, the use of masks and gas masks is absent.

In addition, global practice has shown that in the laws of Austria, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Bavaria (Germany), Russia, a person should not use any facial covers that may interfere with the identification of a person, that is, persons disguised and difficult to recognize.

In this regard, in the laws of the listed countries, those who hide their face behind a mask cannot participate in public events.

Regarding the numerous references to extremism and “extremism-related crimes”

According to Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have the right to peacefully and without weapons gather, hold assemblies, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets. The exercise of this right may be limited by law out of concern for national security, public order, health, protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

The draft law, out of concern for national security, public order, health, protecting the rights and freedoms of others, provides for a rule that prohibits a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan who has an unexpunged or unspent criminal record from participating in mass riots, treason, espionage, extremist and terrorist crimes, violations of the procedure for organizing and conducting peaceful assemblies from organizing peaceful assemblies.

This rule is justified and its presence in the draft law was established taking into account the public danger of persons with an unexpunged or unspent criminal record for such crimes.

 

1. Accession to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (corresponds to clause 2 of the table)

The draft decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the draft Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘On signing the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty’” was agreed by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan through the project of the Government intranet portal No. PI-41550/4 dated April 22, 2020 and endorsed by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on May 18, 2020.

6. Accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty

• In order to implement the directives of the Head of State, stated at the second meeting of the National Council of Public Accord in December 2019, in accordance with paragraph 19 of the Action Plan for the implementation of directives of the President following the results of this meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan has begun the preparations for signing the Optional Protocol starting this January.
• The Protocol was adopted by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 44/128 of December 15, 1989 and is the second international instrument to complement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Of the 193 UN member states, 89 are parties to the Protocol.
• Article 1 of the Protocol provides that no one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to the Protocol shall be executed. At the same time, no reservation is admissible to the Protocol, except for a reservation made at the time of ratification or accession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature committed during wartime (Articles 2 and 6 of the Protocol).
• In accordance with the established domestic procedures, the text of the Protocol was agreed with all of the concerned government agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan; scientific, legal and linguistic examinations of the text were carried out, the expertise of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan was obtained.

For reference: while agreeing on the text of the Protocol, a number of government agencies (GPO, NSC, MD, MNE, AF), as well as the Ministry of Justice in their legal expertise noted the need to discuss the reservations of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Protocol within the framework of a specialized Working Group under the PA.

• On April 14 of this year, the corresponding draft Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On signing the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty” was sent for approval to concerned government agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MJ, GPO, NSC, MD, MNE, AF, MF, MIA, MISD) through the Intranet portal of government agencies.
• Based on the results of the approval of the draft Decree on the Intranet portal, as well as the collection of handwritten signatures of the heads of concerned government agencies, on May 22 of this year, the corresponding draft Decree was submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

For reference: according to the Rules of Procedure of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the draft Decree will be submitted to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the relevant decision of the Government.

 

III.  Developing a multi-party system, political competition and pluralism/reforming the current political system (corresponds to clause 3 of the table).

• Developing the election legislation

On May 25, 2020, President Tokayev signed the Constitutional Law covering the introduction of amendments to the law “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.

Political parties will also be obliged by the law to have women and youth under the age of 29 make up at least 30 percent of their lists.

Now, the indicated category of citizens will actively participate in the elections of the members of the local representative bodies and MPs of the lower house of Parliament.

According to statistics, more than 4.5 million economically active women and 2.8 million young people aged 20 to 29 live in Kazakhstan.

The Parliament of Kazakhstan is represented by women by 22% (the average representation of women in the OECD legislatures is 30%).

There are 29 women in the Mazhilis of the Parliament and 6 in the Senate. People under the age of 29 are not represented in the Parliament.

In maslikhats, the representation of women is about 22% or 740 women. Regarding the youth representation, there are only 53 members under the age of 29 (the total number of seats in maslikhats is 3335).

In this regard, in our opinion, the legislative norms proposed by the President will allow creating additional legal conditions for the active involvement of women and youth in the socio-political processes of the country.

 

• Legislation on political parties

On May 25, 2020, the President signed the draft law providing for amendments to the law “On Political Parties”.

According to the new amendments, the threshold to form a political party will be reduced from 40,000 people to 20,000 people.

This amendment facilitates the establishment of political parties, which will positively affect the processes of the development and adoption of government decisions.

Today, there are 6 political parties registered in Kazakhstan and the adopted law will create an additional impetus for new political parties to emerge.

 

• Establishment of parliamentary opposition

At the initiative of the President, there will be the foundation of a parliamentary opposition laid at the level of the Constitutional Law in Kazakhstan for the first time ever.

The draft law provides for the introduction of the parliamentary opposition (minority), as well as the guaranteed right to nominate candidates for the leadership of the Parliament from among MPs of the parliamentary opposition.

In particular, it establishes the election of the chairman of one of the Mazhilis committees and the secretaries of two standing committees from among the MPs of the parliamentary opposition.

Representatives of the major party will not be able to take these positions.

The parliamentary opposition will be given the right to hold parliamentary hearings. They will have the established ability to introduce alternative draft laws for consideration by MPs as well as to form the agenda of the government hour in the Mazhilis of the Parliament.

In addition, amendments to the Constitutional Law guarantee the head or representative of the opposition the right to speak at joint sessions of the chambers of Parliament, at plenary meetings of the Mazhilis, meetings of committees, working groups, parliamentary hearings and other events. 

To be able to do this, the political party must declare itself an opposition.

This will ensure the systematic work of alternative activities of the Mazhilis of the Parliament.

Moreover, it should be noted that the proposed measures are fully consistent with the principles specified in the Report on the Role of the Opposition in the Democratic Parliament, prepared by the Venice Commission.

For reference: The draft Constitutional Law “On amendments to the Constitutional Law ‘On the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the status of its members’” and the draft law “On amendments concerning parliamentary opposition to the law ‘On the Committees and Commissions of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan’” are under consideration by the Senate of the Parliament. On 28 May 2020, it is planned to submit them to the plenary session of the Senate.

 

1. Strengthening the civil society (corresponds to clause 4 of the table)

On the Concept of Civil Society Development until 2025

 

The Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, within the framework of paragraph 2 of the National Action Plan for the implementation of the President’s State of the Nation Address of September 2, 2019 titled “Constructive public dialogue - the basis of stability and prosperity of Kazakhstan”, developed a draft Concept of Civil Society Development until 2025.

The draft Concept was discussed with the wide participation of representatives from public organizations, business structures, the expert community of regional laboratories, dialogue platforms, republican and regional conferences and meetings with more than 600 representatives of civil society participating.

The purpose of the adoption of the draft is to create favorable conditions for the development of civil society and to provide effective ways for citizens to interact with the state in various forms based on equal partnership.

The Concept focuses on creating conditions for supporting and developing civic engagement; increasing the level of participation of citizens and civil society institutions in the decision-making process and in the management of public affairs; strengthening the capacity of civil society institutions and involving civil society in the implementation of the UN sustainable development goals in Kazakhstan.

Currently, the draft resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On the draft Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On approval of the Concept of the Development of Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025” has been agreed with the central state and local executive bodies and submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

One of the priorities of Kazakhstan's public policy is ensuring favorable conditions for the development of civil society institutions. The issue of state cooperation with non-governmental organizations is becoming increasingly relevant in context to current political events in the country.

The current state of the civil sector demonstrates that institutional conditions are not enough for the effective functioning of civil society. Kazakhstani NGOs are still not full participants in the political processes in the country. A theoretical understanding of the influence of non-governmental organizations on democratic processes is not adequately reflected. The conditions for the functioning of the NGO sector require further improvement in practical terms, both on the part of the state and the organizations themselves.

In this regard, it is extremely important to consider the Concept of Civil Society Development until 2025, as well as introduce amendments and additions to the laws “On Non-Profit Organizations” and “On the State Social Procurement, Grants and Awards for NGOs in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.

The purpose of the Concept is to create favorable conditions for the development of civil society and to provide effective ways for citizens to interact with the state in various forms based on equal partnership.

The document says that currently, civil society institutions do not adequately reflect public interests and in this regard, there is a need to strengthen them. Other problems of civil society are also mentioned: the imperfection of the legislation regulating the activities of civil society institutions; the low involvement of Kazakh people in the work of NGOs and the volunteer movement, a lack of trust in civil society institutions and the insufficient work of government agencies to attract civil society institutions to solve problems among others.

Since the authorities and civil society have complementary roles, their cooperation should be based on the following principles of interaction, which may include, but not be limited to:

- recognition by the state of the economic, political and ideological pluralism of society;

- recognition by the state that human rights and citizenship are of the highest value and to protect them

- non-interference of the state in the private life of citizens;

- existence of reciprocal duties and responsibilities of civil society and the state;

- mutual refusal of society and the state to use violent and illegal actions;

- political independence of civic initiative;

- ensuring the human right to freely create, join and participate in civil society organizations of one’s choice, while exercising the rights to the freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association;

- development of a variety of forms of public participation in the legislative process and increase public influence on the legal policy of the country, etc.

The most important priorities outlined in the Concept are the improvement of legislation in the field of civil society and the mechanisms of interaction between the state and relevant institutions in solving urgent problems of the population and strengthening the role of NGOs in solving state problems and social and political modernization.

The implementation of the Concept is based on the principles of consistency, continuity and inter-agency cooperation. Implementation of the Concept shall provide the following results:

- increased participation of citizens in the work of civil society institutions;

- increase in the number of citizens employed in the civilian sector;

- increased level of trust in civil society institutions from various social groups;

- increased proportion of citizens participating in volunteer activities;

- increased number of active NGOs and other civil society institutions;

- implementation of the principles of the “Listening State”, accessibility of public authorities for citizens and civil society institutions;

- an increase in the number of state functions transferred to the civilian sector, etc.

It is assumed that for the effective implementation of the Concept and for the development of civil society and its institutions, a large bloc of amendments to the regulatory framework will be provided.

For example, the need for amendments and additions to the Law “On Non-Profit Organizations” is caused by the fact that the current regulation of the organizational and legal forms of non-profit organizations lack a system, and the specific features of member organizations are not fully considered. In this regard, the draft law is aimed at further improving the legislation regulating the establishment and activities of non-profit organizations, by clarifying the terminology and other amendments to bring it in line with international standards and recommendations of the UN treaty bodies and thematic mechanisms for ensuring and protecting the right to freedom of association.

 In addition, the introduction of amendments and additions to the Law “On the State Social Procurement, Grants and Awards for NGOs in the Republic of Kazakhstan” will ensure a reboot of the state social procurement system and increase the effectiveness of state support and interaction with non-governmental organizations in solving social problems.  New stages such as framing regional and republican maps of needs will be introduced. On the basis of these maps, government agencies will develop social programs in their fields or territories in coordination with the authorized body. A system of graduated grants and a new tool to finance strategic partners will also be introduced.

The adoption of this draft law will create the necessary conditions for supporting the non-governmental sector, resolving legal uncertainty and bringing the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan closer to international standards for regulating relations with the non-governmental sector.

In developing the above draft laws, the experience of both developed countries and those comparable with Kazakhstan were studied.

 

1. Amendment of the legislation on trade unions (corresponds to clause 5 of the table).

On May 4, 2020, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Labor Issues”.

This Law approved significant innovations in the field of labor relations regulation.

Considering the recommendations of the International Labor Organization, the introduced bloc of amendments adjusted the norms in social partnership and the activities of trade union organizations.

In particular, the conditions for confirming the status of trade unions were simplified and the right to the freedom of association without the obligation of membership in higher organizations was determined.

Also, Kazakh trade unions received the right to join international trade union associations.

Another important step was the introduction of a rule introducing the possibility of suspending the activities of trade unions in cases of non-confirmation of their status within one year from the date of registration. Earlier in a similar situation, the organization was subject to liquidation.

Thus, following international standards, Kazakhstan strengthened the independence of trade union organizations and strengthened their role as responsible partners of the authorities and employers in the labor market.

Amendments in labor legislation proposed in the framework of the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Labor Issues”.

The first area.  Regarding the regulation of labor relations.

1) Conclusion and recording of labor agreements was automated, thereby introducing the concept of a Unified System of Labor Agreements Recording;

2) Grounds for holding an employer liable for acts of discrimination in employment were included to the administrative legislation;

3) The rights of the employee to decent working and living conditions are established with the aim of preventing acts of discrimination at work;

4) Obligations of employers to retain citizens' workplaces and to provide unpaid vacation for the period of their military service are established;

5) A part-time regime is introduced for employees caring for a sick family member in accordance with a medical report;

6) Cases of secondment within the framework of a group of one company are expanded.

The second area. Regarding the regulation of social partnership.

For the purpose of regulation of social partnership issues, as well as consideration of the proposals of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the following amendments to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Trade Unions were proposed:

1) Labor Unions were given a right to choose membership in higher-level trade union associations;

2) Simplification of the conditions for confirming republican, sectoral, regional status of trade unions, in particular:

- for sectoral trade unions the requirement to confirm the association of at least half of the total number of workers in the industry and related industries were removed;

- the period of trade union status confirmation at registration with the judicial authority was extended from 6 months to 1 year;

3) Exclusion of the powers of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Atameken” from the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in terms of representing the interests of employers in the social partnership system.

In addition, the following is proposed:

4) To exclude from the provisions of sectoral agreements the creation of Councils for the prevention and resolution of collective labor disputes and Councils for safety and labor protection;

5) To enshrine the authority of elected representatives of workers, who are not members of the trade union, to represent the workers’ interests concurrently as the trade unions, if the membership of workers in the professional union(s) is less than half the staff of the organization;

6) To enshrine an obligation of an employer related to the establishment of conciliation commissions.

Moreover, the following is proposed in the social partnership area:

7) To extend the list of certain categories of persons who have the right to apply to the court for the consideration of individual labor disputes without first contacting the conciliation commission.

These categories include representatives of micro-business; domestic workers; non-profit organizations with no more than fifteen employees; sole executive bodies of a legal entity, heads of the executive body of a legal entity; as well as other members of the collective executive body of a legal entity.

8) To clarify that only one collective agreement can be concluded in an organization, considering the provisions of the Labor Code on collective bargaining and preparation of a draft collective agreement if there are several representatives of employees in the organization.

The third area: Regarding the regulation of health and safety.

For the purpose of further improvement and development of health and safety legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the following was proposed:

• To establish a safety management system at the enterprise;
• To enshrine the obligation of an employer to implement a safety management system and monitor its functioning;
• To enshrine the obligation of an employer to assess and manage professional risks in the organization;
• To provide the following competences of the authorized state body for labor:

to develop and approve regulatory documents governing the procedure for assessing and managing professional risks in an organization;

to develop and approve a model provision on the OSH management system in the organization;

to develop and approve inter-sectoral labor model standards for the number of occupational health services’ workers.

• To establish a timeframe for the establishment of an industrial board for safety and health at work.
• To consider the need for coordination by the general contracting organization of work by contractors and subcontractors to ensure compliance with safety and labor protection requirements.
• To enshrine the obligation of an employee to comply with the schedule established by the employer at the work facility and in places specially equipped for living (shift camps).
• To introduce an electronic mechanism for the transfer of information for declaration via the Unified Information System of the Social and Labor Sphere (UIS STS).
• To establish the rights to suspend (prohibit) the activities of organizations for a period of no more than five business days with the obligatory submission of a statement of claim to a court only for the Chief State Labor Inspector of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chief State Labor Inspectors of the region, the cities of republican significance, the capital in case of inconsistency of organizations with the requirements of regulatory legal acts on safety and health at work.

At the same time, 180 proposals were received from the members of parliament on the draft law, as a result of which the following amendments were adopted:

- creation of equal access to the labor market for women, by allowing women to work in physically demanding and harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions, when an employer creates safe working conditions, confirmed by the certification of  working conditions of production facilities (Article 26 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on prohibitions and restrictions);

- temporary transfer of a pregnant woman, including the transfer of those working on a rotational basis, to a five-day or six-day working week, with payment for work performed, but not lower than the average salary for previous work;

- exclusion of the termination of the employment contract by agreement of the parties when, by agreement with the employee, the employer may stipulate the right of the employer to terminate the employment agreement without observing the requirements established by Clause 2 of Article 50 of the Code (Clause 3 of Article 50 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan);

- amendments to the grounds for termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer, when the employee uses his official position in his own interests or the interests of a third party contrary to the interests of the employer in return for receiving material or other benefits for himself or other persons;

- provision of a procedure for compliance of employees engaged in remote work with the health and safety requirements;

- provision for the rights of trade unions to cooperate with international organizations;

- humanization of the penal law in terms of transferring an article from “criminal offenses” to the category of “criminal misconduct”, as well as from the category of moderate crimes to crimes of minor gravity in the commission of acts provoking the continuation of participation in a strike recognized by the court as unlawful.

On February 26, 2020, the draft law was adopted at the second reading by the Mazhilis of the Parliament and submitted to the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On April 30, 2020, the draft law was passed in two readings by the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On May 4, 2020, the draft law was signed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

1. Decriminalization of libel (corresponds to clause 6 of the table)

Amendments to the penal law. The amendments propose to exclude article 130 “Slander” from the Penal Code and in the title of article 174 (“Fomenting of social, national, tribal, racial, estate or religious hatred”), replace “fomenting” with the word “inciting”. In addition, it is proposed to amend the sentence in the first paragraph of Article 174:

as presently in effect: restriction of liberty for a term of two to seven years or imprisonment for the same term.

in the proposed amendments: a fine in the amount of 2,000 to 7,000 monthly calculation indices (MCI) or restriction of liberty for a term of two to seven years or imprisonment for the same term.

Amendments to the Code of Administrative Infractions. The amendments to the Code of Administrative Infractions of the Republic of Kazakhstan propose to introduce article 73 “Slander”.

According to the draft Article, slander, that is, the dissemination of knowingly false information, discrediting the honor and dignity of another person or undermining his reputation, entails a fine for an individual in the amount of 160 MCI or an arrest for a period of 15 days, for an official - a fine in the amount of 550 MCI or an arrest for a period of 20 days.

The same act committed publicly or using the media or telecommunication networks entails a fine for an individual in the amount of 180 MCI or an arrest for a period of 20 days, for an official - a fine in the amount of 650 MCI or an arrest for a period of 25 days.

The acts provided for in paragraphs one or two of this Article, combined with the accusation of a person of committing  corruption, grave or especially grave crime, as well as entailing grave consequences, shall entail a fine for an individual in the amount of 200 MCI or arrest for a period of 25 days, for an official - a fine in the amount of 750 MCI or arrest for a period of 30 days.

The decriminalization of article 130 of the Penal Code is consistent with recommendation 13 of the OECD Istanbul Anti-corruption Action Plan for Eastern Europe and Central Asia for 2017-2020 on the need to repeal criminal liability for libel.

Despite decriminalization, the measure of responsibility for libel will remain high. The proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Infractions change the type of punishment for slander, establish new fines, and introduce higher liability for officials.

 

VII. Tighter penalties for sexual violence, pedophilia, drug trafficking, human trafficking and other serious crimes, especially against children (corresponds to clause 7 of the table).

The fight against violence is one of the state priorities. All measures taken by Kazakhstan are aimed at creating in society an atmosphere of “zero tolerance” for offenses against women and children.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Constructive Public Dialogue - the Basis of Stability and Prosperity of Kazakhstan” in September 2019 instructed to increase the punishment for sexual violence, pedophilia, drug trafficking, human trafficking, crimes against children, as well as domestic violence against women.

In pursuance of this instruction and other program documents, the Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Improving Criminal, Criminal Procedure Laws and Enhancing the Protection of Personal Rights” was developed and enacted on December 27, 2019.

According to the Law, criminal liability for violence against children and sexual violence, as well as liability for domestic violence in isolation has been tightened, etc.

FIRST BLOC OF Amendments toughened penalties for rape and sexual assault. The law provides:

- five to eight years in prison (previously – from three to five years) for their commission, thus these crimes are transferred to the category of serious crimes.

- reconciliation for these serious acts is now prohibited. Now those charged with rape will not be able to evade responsibility by reconciling with victims.

- the penalties for committing these crimes under aggravating circumstances have also been tightened.

For reference: for example, nine to twelve years of imprisonment (previously - from five to ten years) is provided for committing these crimes repeatedly by a person in the line of duty or by a group of persons by inflicting the threat of murder.  

For rape of minors and violent acts of a sexual nature against them, imprisonment for 20 years, or life imprisonment (earlier - from 17 to 20 years, or life imprisonment) is given.

Up to six years of imprisonment is given to persons who harbor crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors (previously, if the act was not a serious crime, then liability was not provided).

In order to strengthen the activities of the Commission for Juvenile Affairs and Protection of Their Rights (hereinafter - CJAPR), the Standard Regulation on the Commission was amended in March 2020, in particular, the competence of the CJAPR and the measures aimed to protect and restore the rights of minors against violence and cruelty, to socially rehabilitate minors were expanded, as well as a separate staff position is created in the apparatus of the corresponding local executive body for the secretary of the Commission (at the end of 2019, out of 228 secretaries, 122 secretaries worked in akimats).

Along with this, this year, in order to enable rapid actions to eliminate violations of children's rights, the staff units of deputy directors of the departments of the Committee for Quality Assurance in Education and Science, which are included in the CJAPR, were introduced in all regions.

Also, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in order to strengthen inter-agency relations in the protection of children's rights, together with interested government agencies, adopted the "Roadmap to strengthen the protection of the rights of the child, counteract domestic violence and address suicidal issues among adolescents for 2020-2023" (approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 156 dated March 30, 2020).

At the same time, the State Program for Healthcare Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025 provides for training of school psychologists, school medical workers in primary health care, and early identification of the risk of suicide among adolescents.

The action plan for the implementation of the State Program for the Development of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025 provides for the development and implementation of a program for the prevention and response to violence in schools, as well as the development of life skills and the prevention of suicides.

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, the state assumes obligations to prevent and suppress the illegal movement, abduction of children, trafficking of children, regardless of the goals, forms and methods of execution, including on their return to the country of permanent residence.

Standards and requirements for equipping pre-school and secondary education organizations with video surveillance systems have been adopted.

A Public Council under the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which provides for interaction with all state bodies for the exchange of information, which is also attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations and the legal community has been established. This platform allows to consider, among other topics, the issues of implementation of international norms on the elimination of violence against women and children in national legislation.

The SECOND BLOC of amendments is aimed at toughening penalties for human trafficking, domestic violence against women, crimes against children and other crimes against the person.

 In accordance with the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Improvement of Criminal and Criminal Procedure Legislation and Enhancing the Protection of Personal Rights” dated December 27, 2019, the amendments were made to the Code of Administrative Offenses:

- liability for committing an offense under Article 73 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Unlawful Actions in the Sphere of Family and Domestic Relations) has been strengthened, namely, part 1-1 of the article has been supplemented by a sanction that provides for punishment in the form of a warning or administrative arrest for up to five days. The liability has been strengthened in comparison with the previous edition of the above article.

- for intentional infliction of slight harm to health in relation to a person who is in a family relationship with the offender (part 1-1 of article 73-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), the offender shall face a warning or administrative arrest for up to fifteen days.

- amendments were also made to Article 73-2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Bodily blows), the sanction of part 1-1 of the article now provides for punishment in the form of a warning or administrative arrest for up to ten days.

- amendments were made to paragraph 1 of part 1 of article 54 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which says that special requirements for a period of three months to one year can be established with regard to the conduct of the person who committed the administrative offense provided for in articles 73, 73-1, 73-2, 127, 128, 131, 434, 435, 436, 440 (fourth and fifth parts), 442 (part three), 448, 461, 482, 485 (part two) of the Code of Administrative Offenses, when considering a case of an administrative offense by a court on its own initiative or at the request of the police or other participants in the proceedings on an administrative offense.

The THIRD BLOC of amendments tightens liability for drug trafficking using electronic information resources.

Such acts are categorized as especially serious crimes, and imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years (previously - from 5 to 10 years) is given for the crimes.

Inducement to drug use using these resources is categorized as a serious crime, and imprisonment from 3 to 8 years (previously there was a fine of up to 4 thousand MCI or imprisonment of up to 4 years) is given.

In order to counteract the involvement of citizens in drug trafficking, criminal liability was introduced for its propaganda or illegal advertising (previously there was an administrative liability).

Imprisonment up to 3 years is provided for this act, and if there are aggravating circumstances - from 3 to 6 years of imprisonment.

 

VIII.         Continuation of deep reforms of the judicial and law enforcement systems (corresponds to clause 8 of the table).

The draft Administrative Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The draft Code is aimed at regulating public relations related to the implementation of administrative procedures, including the organization of interdepartmental activities of state bodies, as well as administrative proceedings for the resolution of disputes in the field of public administration (administrative justice).

The draft Code proposes to call off the RK Law “On administrative procedures”, “On the procedure for considering appeals of individuals and legal entities” and introduce new mechanisms for regulating administrative procedures in accordance with generally recognized international standards.

In addition, a new type of legal proceedings is being introduced – the administrative one.

It should be noted that the draft Code does not cover relations related to delictual liability, the procedure for which is established in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As for the regulation of administrative procedures, the following is established:

– given the fact that powers of authority are exercised not only by state bodies, but also by other entities (for example, NCE Atameken, Private Court Bailiffs, natural monopolies entities), it is proposed to enshrine the concept of “administrative body”;

– new principles are introduced (proportionality, protection of the right of confidence, etc.), designed to protect individuals from possible abuse by government entities.

Each of these principles deserves special attention, as it is aimed at improving the situation of private individuals. Thus, the principle of priority of rights will oblige law enforcers to interpret all doubts, contradictions and ambiguities of legislation in favor of citizens;

- procedural guarantees (the right of a citizen to be heard before making a final decision, the right to get acquainted with the case materials) are fixed, which will provide “feedback” to citizens when making management decisions by authorities;

– in order to achieve uniform regulation, it is proposed to establish understandable and consistent stages in the activities of authorities, namely, the stage of initiating a procedure (filing an appeal, initiative of a body), considering a case (investigation, hearing of citizens, etc.), making a decision;

– a special procedure is introduced for the abolition of legal decisions in favor of citizens;

– compulsory pre-trial appeal is introduced, with the exception of certain categories of disputes (for example, tax, customs disputes, where a special procedure for appealing decisions of these bodies is provided for).

Regarding the administrative proceedings, attention should be paid to the following:

– the role of the court is strengthened when considering public law disputes in court. Guided by the principle of active role, the court will be obliged to inquire circumstances relevant to the dispute, collecting evidence independently;

– the “presumption of guilt” of the authority is fixed when considering a dispute in court. With the exception of individual cases, the burden of proof will rest with the body that made the legal decision;

– a system of administrative claims is established (claim for contestation, claim for coercion, claim for the commission of an action, claim for recognition), differentiated depending on the subject and grounds of the commencement;

– the institute of judicial control over the execution of judicial acts is introduced. The draft provides for the possibility of repeated application by the courts of monetary penalties as a form of procedural coercion in order to ensure the timely execution of their requirements.

The provisions of the draft Code have been discussed many times at various places.

Moreover, the European Commission for Democracy through Law and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have reviewed the draft Code and, in general, gave positive conclusions on it.

The objectives of the adoption of the draft Code are:

- fixing a set of guarantees that will allow citizens to really participate in the process of making managerial decisions;

- establishment of effective mechanisms for protecting the rights of citizens when considering disputes with authorities in a higher authority and court.

Continuing judicial and law enforcement reforms

The President of Kazakhstan in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Constructive Public Dialogue - the Basis for Stability and Prosperity of Kazakhstan” in September 2019 noted the need to continue deep reforms of the judicial and law enforcement systems as a key factor in strengthening the protection of citizens' rights and their security.

One of the important steps for further reform of the judicial and law enforcement systems is the introduction of administrative justice, as a special mechanism for resolving disputes between a citizen and a state body.

The introduction of the Institute of Administrative Justice is envisaged through the development of the draft Administrative Procedure Code (hereinafter - APC).

APC is a new document for the legal system of Kazakhstan. The aim of the draft Code is to protect the rights of citizens and legal entities in disputes with state bodies, maintaining a balance of interests of the parties, as well as improving the quality of management decisions.

The draft Code proposes to call off the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Administrative Procedures”, “On the Procedure for Considering Appeals of Individuals and Legal Entities” and introduce new mechanisms for regulating administrative procedures in accordance with generally recognized international standards. In addition, a new type of legal proceedings is being introduced – the administrative one.

For reference: as for the regulation of administrative procedures, the concept of “administrative body” and procedural guarantees (the right of a citizen to be heard before making a final decision, the right to familiarize oneself with the case materials) are fixed, which will provide “feedback” to citizens when making management decisions by authorities, new principles (proportionality, protection of the right to trust, etc.) are introduced to protect individuals from possible abuse by government entities.

To achieve uniform regulation, it is proposed to establish understandable and consistent stages in the activities of authorities, namely, the stage of initiating a procedure (filing an appeal, initiative of a body), considering a case (investigation, hearing of citizens, etc.), and making a decision. A special procedure is introduced for the abolition of legal decisions in favor of citizens. Compulsory pre-trial appeal is introduced, with the exception of certain categories of disputes (for example, tax, customs disputes, where a special procedure for appealing decisions of these bodies is provided for).

Regarding the introduction of administrative proceedings:

- the role of the court is strengthened when considering public law disputes in court. Guided by the principle of active role, the court will be obliged to inquire circumstances relevant to the dispute, collecting evidence independently;

- the “presumption of guilt” of the authority is fixed when considering a dispute in court. With the exception of individual cases, the burden of proof will rest with the body that made the legal decision;

- a system of administrative claims is established (claim for contestation, claim for coercion, claim for the commission of an action, claim for recognition), differentiated depending on the subject and grounds of the commencement;

- the institute of judicial control over the execution of judicial acts is introduced. The draft provides for the possibility of repeated application by the courts of monetary penalties as a form of procedural coercion in order to ensure the timely execution of their requirements.

The provisions of the draft Code were widely discussed at various venues. Taking into account the importance of the ongoing reform, the draft law was submitted to the Council of Europe (Venice Commission) for consideration by the European Commission “For Democracy through Law”.

The Venice Commission, overall, gave a positive conclusion and noted that the draft Code was of high quality and could provide an important impetus for further reforms in the administrative sphere. The OECD  also, overall, gave a positive conclusion on the draft Code.

On May 6 this year, the plenary session of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the second reading approved the draft law "On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Procedural Procedure Laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan", as well as its relevant amendments on enforcement proceedings.

The draft law has now been submitted to the Senate and is awaiting consideration.

The adoption of the Code will allow citizens and organizations to feel confident in making legal and objective decisions in the event of disputes with public authorities.

 

1. Miscellaneous.

 

1. Promotion of volunteering

2020 is declared the Year of the Volunteer by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 135 dated August 26, 2019. This decision aims to support and recognise volunteerism as a necessary tool in the further development of civic activism for the good of our country.

In pursuance of the Decree, the Action Plan for the Volunteer Year was approved (Regulation No. 3 of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 16.01.2020 “On the Approval of the Action Plan for the Year Volunteer”), which provides for 40 events aimed at developing volunteer activities in the country.

The plan provides for 7 main areas to promote volunteering.

For reference:

1) Development of an enabling environment for volunteer activities;

2) Development of infrastructure for volunteering and increasing the capacity of its participants;

3) Enhancing citizen participation in volunteer activities;

4) Development of corporate volunteering;

5) Development of international cooperation in the field of volunteering;

6) Popularization of volunteering;

7) Development of volunteering to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

As part of the implementation of the Plan, certain work is being carried out:

1. To improve the regulatory framework of volunteering, a draft Concept of the Law "On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts on Volunteering" has been developed. The draft is aimed at improving the current law by including the experience of volunteering in the work record, as well as assessing the contribution of volunteering to the socio-economic development of the country. A working group has been formed to develop the draft.
2. A volunteer infrastructure was created under the principle of a single vertical "country front office - regional centers for supporting volunteers." In particular,

- the country front office of volunteers “BIRGEMIZ” was launched, which is a single coordination, methodological, consulting, information and training center for the promotion and development of volunteering in Kazakhstan;

- regional volunteer support centers (regional headquarters, front offices) have been created in all regions. Headquarters were created under youth resource centers in 6 regions (the cities of Nur-Sultan and Shymkent and Kostanai, Kyzylorda, Mangystau, Turkestan regions);

The official opening of the regional front offices of volunteers took place in Akmola, Aktobe, West Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, East Kazakhstan regions.

3. 17 regional support centers were organized for the development of sectoral volunteering. Regional plans have been developed aimed at boosting volunteering, increasing the potential of participants, expanding citizen participation in volunteering, developing corporate volunteering, and promoting volunteering. In total, the regional plans provide for the implementation of more than 500 projects.
4. Within the framework of grant funding, work is being done to study positive practices of corporate volunteering. In addition, together with NWF “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC, national companies with state participation are working to determine the minimum threshold for employee participation (hourly workload with release from basic functional duties);
5. As part of the development of international volunteering, an agreement has now been signed with United Nations Volunteers. Within the framework of the agreement, this year it is planned to send 7 Kazakhstanis as UNV volunteers to work in UN structures. 33 candidates, out of 39 applications submitted to UNV, were approved for further competitive procedures.
6. The establishment of the international award “Volunteer of the Year” is being studied. The prize is to be awarded to the best volunteers and for volunteer initiatives that have contributed to the development of Kazakhstan and the resolution of socially significant issues.
7. It is planned to create a Volunteer Council with the participation of leaders of volunteer organizations in Kazakhstan and Russia.
8. In order to popularize and widely promote volunteerism in Kazakhstan, the Ministry, together with the National Volunteer Network ALE, launched a single online platform of volunteers kz, which was presented to the Head of State during the launch of the Front Office.

         Information on the planned and conducted events is posted on an ongoing basis, 53 news are published. An Instagram account was created. The function of registering volunteers via mail has been added. A slider with helpline contacts is displayed on the platform for those who are in need during the quarantine.

         Currently, more than 25 thousand volunteers and 2 thousand organizations are registered, more than 800 projects have been published.

2. Promotion of Charity

 

In order to systematically develop a culture of charity among the population and social responsibility of business, the Law on Charity was adopted in 2015 (hereinafter - the Law).

 In order to improve the development of charitable activities, a Charity Promotion Council was created.

The main coordinator of the field of charity, in accordance with the current legislation, is the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK). The APK annually organizes large-scale countrywide charity events, congresses of representatives of charitable organizations and donors. Thus, in the framework of the “Caravan of Mercy” campaign, 11,486 events were held in 2019 (about 667,273 people and 28,881 families received help in the amount of 3 billion tenge).

The adoption of the Law contributed to an increase in the number of charitable organizations by 20%. The number of organizations registered in the database of the Ministry of Justice is more than 1,000. The range of their activities is wide and focused on existing needs.

The amount of funding for projects of charitable organizations increased by 25% (2017 - 131.7 billion tenge, 2018 - more than 177 billion tenge). The funding was directed to infrastructure projects, improvement of education, healthcare, culture, sports, patronage of orphanages, assistance to socially vulnerable groups, etc.

As part of the implementation of the “Tugan Zher” subprogram aimed at assisting a small motherland, the volume of charitable investments has quadrupled over the past three years.

In order to stimulate, encourage and motivate our citizens, representatives of business communities, philanthropists, NGOs and volunteers to participate in the development of a small homeland, to popularize charity ideas, the Ministry of Information and Social Development has established the Zhomart Zhurek Prize in 2018 (this year’s award ceremony is scheduled for December). The prize winners are awarded in 5 nominations: “Zhyl metsenaty”, “Tugan olke”, “Zhyl tulgassy”, “Eren eriktilik”, “Zhyldy uzdik uiymy”. Last year, 50 people were awarded at the country level, 10 people in each category.

At the same time, despite the enormous amount of measures and initiatives being taken, the analysis and social surveys record a low degree of the development of charity.

To develop a culture of charity and promote it among the population, it is necessary to take measures to improve existing legislation. In particular, there is a need to address the issues of transparency in the procedures for providing charitable assistance, regulatory legal requirements for the status of charitable organizations, etc.

Currently, the Ministry has developed a draft Concept of the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts on Charity” which has been submitted to the Interdepartmental Commission for consideration. In addition, in accordance with the instruction of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 15 of this year, the draft Concept was submitted for consideration by the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

 

3. Transformation of interaction with civil society institutions

 

Within the framework of the Civil Society Development Concept, it is planned to raise the level of state interaction with civil society institutions to a new level.

It is planned to develop an effective model of partnership between the state and civil society in Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region.

It also envisages the development of large network organizations in various industries, which, as strategic partners of the state, carry out functions for implementing socially significant priorities.

Civil society organizations will become the main partner of the state in resolving social issues, in implementing state projects and programs in terms of analyzing and assessing their significance and necessity.

For this, amendments to the law on state social order, grants and awards for NGOs are currently being developed, regarding the introduction of mechanisms of strategic partners.

Along with this, the Civil Society Development Concept provides for a number of measures aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society institutions.

First. The role of commissioners for interaction with civil society, who will act as the main connecting link of state bodies and the civil sector, will be strengthened.

At present, there are 378 authorized officials for interaction with NGOs in the country, of which 19 are in the central state bodies, and 359 are in the local executive bodies.

Within the framework of the concept, key indicators of the performance of commissioners will be introduced, the status of commissioners is normatively defined, and their functions are fixed.

Second. The work of the NGO Resource Support Centers will be reorganized and aimed, in addition to NGOs, at increasing the capacity of other civil society institutions, which should become centers of competence for civil society institutions.

Third. It is proposed to professionalize the non-governmental sector. An NGO Academy will be created on the basis of which civil society leaders, socially active and responsible citizens of Kazakhstan, selflessly serving Kazakhstani society, will be trained.

Fourth. Promotion of digital interaction with NGOs.

Today, digital technology has become an everyday part of the economic, political and cultural life of citizens, as well as an engine for the development of society as a whole.

Currently, Internet platforms, social networks and messengers have become a tool that in many countries of the world is used to implement various civic / social initiatives and actions. For example, when the European Union considers the adoption of a draft law or any important decision, the European Commission invites governments, business representatives, public organizations and private individuals to express their opinions online.

Thus, through online technologies, citizens are consolidated to address social, socio-political and other issues.

 

13. “On Amendments and Additions to the Law ‘On the State Social Order, Grants and Awards for NGOs in the Republic of Kazakhstan’”

 

The adoption of the draft law will reload the state social order system and increase the effectiveness of state support for and interaction with non-governmental organizations in solving social problems.

The new law will resolve the issues of procurement from non-governmental organizations, the provision of state grants and financing of strategic partners. Payment for special social services will be regulated by the law only to the extent that does not contradict the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Special Social Services”.

At the planning stage of the state social order, new stages will be introduced, such as the formation of regional and country maps of needs. On their basis, state bodies will develop social programs in their own fields or territories, which will be harmonized with the authorized body.

A new tool - financing of strategic partners - will be introduced. The determination of strategic partners will be carried out by the authorized body from among potential strategic partners.

 

 

4. The tasks of public councils in ensuring effective feedback from government agencies to civil society institutions and the population

 

The Law “On Public Councils” and the package of laws on combating corruption, public service, access to information, personal data and their protection, legally enshrined the institute of public councils and ensured effective feedback from government agencies to civil society institutions and the public.

Since 2016, public councils have transformed into an effective institution of civic engagement. Over the past four years, they have become an effective tool for involving citizens in decision-making at all levels of government.

At present, there are 234 Public Councils in the country, including 18 - at the country level, 17 - at the regional level, cities of Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent, 199 councils - in cities and districts.

As is known, in accordance with the Law on Public Councils, public councils carry out 4 types of public control, such as: public examination, public hearing, public monitoring and hearing of reports of the heads of state bodies on the work done.

Today, public councils ensure the transparency and accountability of government bodies.

As part of its activities, since the beginning of 2020, public councils have held about 600 meetings to consider topical issues and the results of public control.

Public councils conduct public monitoring on an ongoing basis. Thus, more than 50 studies were conducted on topical issues regarding the operation of public transport, the state of water pipes, housing construction, road repair, price monitoring, more than 1900 draft regulatory legal acts were reviewed, more than 160 public hearings were held on water supply, improving the sanitary and epidemiological situation, quality of medical services, etc.

In addition, public councils annually hear reports of akims of various levels, heads of central state and local executive bodies. For example, since the beginning of 2020, 50 akims, 11 ministers, more than 50 heads of local executive bodies have been heard.

The public receiving offices, consideration of appeals that contribute to the effective interaction with the population have been introduced into practice by public councils. In the current year, public councils considered more than 700 appeals, of which 80% were satisfied.

In addition, during the coronavirus pandemic, public councils made a feasible contribution to maintaining stability in the country. Public councils organized public monitoring in food trading venues, pharmacies, etc.

At present, one of the tasks of the Ministry of Information and Social Development is to institutionalize and strengthen the capacity of public councils, and increase the level of public confidence in them.

In this regard, a draft law has been developed aimed at improving the efficiency of public councils.

When developing the draft law, the world experience was thoroughly studied and some provisions of international practice formed the basis of the draft law.

In addition, the draft law takes into account the recommendations of the OECD international organization, the results of studies, monitoring, analysis, and proposals from public councils themselves.

To date, key amendments have been introduced to the draft law, which create the necessary conditions for achieving the main goal of public councils - expressing the views of civil society.

First of all, the changes affected the process of forming public councils. The composition of public councils at the local level shall be approved by maslikhats.

The formation mechanisms have been improved, so public councils will form reserve lists from among candidates for PC members; upon termination of powers of PC members and in case of their retirement, public councils can select members from the reserve list or carry out another competition.

The composition of public councils at the country level will be in the range of 15-30 people, and at the local level, the range will be calculated depending on the number of people in the corresponding region.

One of the new regulations of the draft law is the election of the head of the Working Group on the formation of the Public Council from among the representatives of civil society.

The rights, duties and powers of public councils have been expanding. Now public councils can independently determine which draft legal acts are subject to consideration and which they can reject without consideration.

Public councils will consider appeals on socially significant issues of the relevant industry or region, which helps to strengthen interaction with the population, and to timely resolve long-standing problems.

One of their new powers is the local level hearing by public councils of the information of the heads of law enforcement bodies of the corresponding region.

This draft law regulates the grounds in which members of public councils can be prematurely expelled from their composition and terminate their powers.

In addition, one of the novelties is the issue of organizational support to public councils and the provision of financing for certain areas of their activities.

The draft law also defines the competence of the authorized body - the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The authorized body will develop and approve the Procedure for Public Control, and the Standard Regulation on the Public Council.

The draft law defines the competence of the authorized body on the preparation and submission to the Head of State of the National Report on the activities of public councils on an annual basis.

The public took an active part in the process of discussing the draft law, as well as members of public councils themselves, representatives of non-governmental organizations, government agencies, Kazakhstani and international experts, who directly participated in the discussion. Public discussions were carried out on large dialogue platforms of the country. The draft law was discussed at the country conference of public councils, extended meetings of the Working Group to discuss the draft law on public councils, panel session of the VIII Civil Forum, and at the I and II Republican Mazhilis of public councils.

We believe that with the adoption of the law and the strengthening of the role of public councils in cooperation with the consultative and advisory body under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the National Council of Public Trust, the institution of public councils will become an effective mechanism for interaction between the state and the civil sector in solving topical problems of the population.