In the light of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights, together with the National Center for Human Rights and International Organizations, held an international scientific and practical conference "Implementation of international legal norms ensuring human rights into national legislation" on December 10, 2023. Theevent was attended by deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, representatives of government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, ombudsmen of the Turkic states, public opinion leaders and other experts.

The conference included three key sessions:

On December 8, 2023, ameeting of the Human Rights Commission under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held. The First Vice-Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Akmadi Adilovich Sarbasov, spoke at the meeting. He shared important information about the activities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, highlighting the measures taken in the field of combating human trafficking.

Specialemphasis was placed on the innovative implementation of digital cards, which opens up new opportunities in the social protection system.

Eventswithin the framework of the republican campaign "16 days without violence" are actively continuing. Today, on December 6, 2023, a round table on the topic "Our duty to protect women" was held in Saryagash district of Turkestan region. The meeting was organized by the Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy under the Governor of Turkestan region.

TheInternational Volunteer Day is celebrated annually on December 5, and this is especially significant in light of the events taking place within the framework of the USAID project "Safe Migration in Central Asia", implemented by Winrock International. Within the framework of this project, an important event took place – a Youth Forum for graduates of the “Smart Navigator” youth preventive program.

On November 30, 2023, withinthe framework of the Republican campaign “16 days without violence” dedicated to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the PA LCWI “Sana Sezim”, together with a representative of the Unit for the Protection of Women from Violence of the Abai DPO DP of Shymkent, held a meeting with students of the State Committee for the Elimination of Violence "Polytechnic College".

Issuesrelated to violence prevention and victim support were raised during the meeting. Students absorbed information about methods of violence prevention and victim support with great interest, striving to create a safe society for all.

On November28, 2023, publichearings "Kazakhstan without violence" organized by the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs were held in Astana. The national report "On countering domestic violence in the Republic of Kazakhstan", which has been worked on since 2021, was presented at the event.

Duringthe discussion, the lack of effective protection of human rights in the context of domestic violence in Kazakhstan was noted. The question was raised about the need to criminalize bodily injury, since at present it is not a criminal offense, while arrest is imposed for 10 days for causing bodily harm. However, in the case of the first incident, only a warning is provided.

We are pleased to announce that the international campaign "16 days of active action against gender-based violence" has started. Every year, from November 25 to December 10, anti-violence events are held around the world. This year's campaign with the slogan "Unite! Invest in preventing violence against women and girls" calls on countries to invest more in financial and human resources to prevent gender-based violence.

Inorder to prevent and combat domestic violence, on the instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a large-scale campaign "16 days of activity against violence" was launched on the territory of the Republic.

We are pleased to share with you information on the progress of the IOM project "Protection of vulnerable migrants with a special focus on the empowerment of women in the context of migration in Central Asia", funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Turkestan region and in the city of Shymkent.

Forthe successful implementation of the project, the goal was set to contribute to the protection of migrants and increase the resilience of vulnerable migrants, especially women, in Central Asia in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The staff started a series of trainings for representatives of the Department of Health and Education.

On November8, 2023, anevent dedicated to the development of legal culture and improvement of legal literacy of students was held at the Turkestan Industrial and Construction College. Representatives of the Shymkent city Department of Justice, judges of the specialized inter-district juvenile court, chief specialist of the Department of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Combating Corruption, a local police officer of the Al-Farabi district police department, lawyers from the Shymkent City Bar Association, specialists of “ZangerlerPalatasy” and PA LCWI “Sana Sezim” took part. Issues related to safe migration, changing values and the formation of an anti-corruption culture in society were discussed.

Atthe initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, mobile groups have been created in the regions of Kazakhstan to conduct educational and informational events, explanatory work among the population on the prevention of human trafficking and identification of victims of labor exploitation. The participants of the mobile groups have drawn up and agreed on a schedule of visits to the districts of the Turkestan region and the city of Shymkent to carry out active identification (identification) of victims of human trafficking, including potential ones. Mobile groups organize meetings with the public: