KAZAKHSTAN-SOGI-TBs-CESCR

Concluding Observations on Report 2 (2019) (Link)

Civil society

8. The Committee is concerned at information that some non-governmental organizations in the State party working for the protection and promotion of human rights, in particular the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, have faced difficulty in registering.

9. The Committee recommends that the State party guarantee an enabling environment for non-governmental organizations engaged in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including a functional and accommodating registration procedure.

Non-discrimination

10. The Committee is concerned that neither the Constitution nor the domestic legislation of the State party explicitly prohibits some of the existing grounds of discrimination, such as gender identity and sexual orientation, which contributes to the persistence of discrimination on those grounds in access to employment, health care and education. It is also concerned by the lack of tailored legal protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons against attacks and harassment. Lastly, the Committee notes with concern the indirect discrimination faced by foreign and internal migrants as a consequence of the prolonged process of obtaining residence registration, which hinders their access to the formal labour market and to social benefits in such areas as health care, housing and education (art. 2).

11. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that addresses direct and indirect discrimination and encompasses all the prohibited grounds of discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity, as set out in article 2 (2) of the Covenant, taking also into account the Committee’s general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights;

(b) Take the measures necessary to combat discrimination against foreign and internal migrants, and to ensure that residence registration does not limit access to economic, social and cultural rights of foreign and internal migrants, in particular with regard to access to the formal labour market and to such social benefits as health care, housing and education;

(c) Take all steps necessary to prevent and combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and ensure their equal enjoyment of the rights under the Covenant, and enact tailored legal protections of these persons against attacks and harassment. 

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Right to education

48. While recognizing the efforts made by the State party to ensure universal access to education and to improve its quality, the Committee remains concerned about reports that:

(a) A significant number of children do not have access to early education and that there are large regional disparities in access to and the quality of education;

(b) Corruption remains prevalent in the education system, in particular in cases involving persons seeking to obtain enrolment or higher grades;

(c) The quality of education remains low (according to results obtained by the Programme for International Student Assessment) in relation to the level of development owing to shortcomings in infrastructure and an insufficient number of qualified teachers;

(d) Quality of and access to inclusive education of persons with disabilities remains inadequate;

(e) Many children of unregistered migrants do not have access to education or schoolbooks because of problems during registration or because legal identity documents are missing;

(f) Bullying, violence and discrimination persist in schools, in particular against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students;

(g) Many students do not have access to education in their own ethnic minority language (art. 13).

49. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Strengthen public education, including by increasing the budget allocated to early primary and secondary education with a view to improving access to and the quality of education at all levels for all; and increase enrolment rates at all levels of education, paying special attention to girls, children living in rural areas and children from low-income families;

(b) Continue its efforts to put an end to corruption in educational institutions by, inter alia, establishing transparent enrolment systems, ensuring visible channels for reporting corruption and conducting efficient investigations into cases of alleged corruption;

(c) Improve the quality of education, and expand investment in infrastructure and teacher training;

(d) Make every effort to ensure inclusive education for all children with disabilities, including by allocating resources for the provision of reasonable accommodation and additional professional training for teachers;

(e) Protect all children against bullying and violence in schools, and expand efforts to prevent their occurrence;

(f) Ensure that students belonging to minorities have access to education in their own languages;

(g) Consider the Committee’s general comment No. 13 (1999) on the right to education (art. 13).

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Concluding Observations on Report 1 (2010) (Link)

[no mention]

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