OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, in Kazakhstan, discusses impact of reforms on national minorities
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors encouraged the authorities of Kazakhstan to take the country’s ethnic and linguistic diversity into account in planned reforms, known as the “100 Concrete Steps”, in areas including education, the civil service, and promotion of national identity and unity.
Thors visited Astana, Petropavlovsk and Almaty from 15–19 June 2015.
In Astana, she addressed an international parliamentary conference organized by the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, marking the 20th anniversary of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK). She noted the unique and historic role that the APK plays in Kazakhstan’s commitment to inter‑ethnic stability. She emphasized that parliamentarians and consultative bodies like the APK are crucial in developing laws and policies that promote the integration of societies, pointing out that obstacles to the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities remain a challenge in the OSCE region.
The High Commissioner also urged the authorities to pay particular attention to schools teaching in minority languages. Because schools in Kazakhstan promote knowledge of the Kazakh, Russian and English languages, minority‑language schools are in a special situation. She said: “For these schools, the formula should be three‑plus, because they teach in four or even more languages. They need additional support to achieve high-quality multilingual instruction, a process that should start in pre‑school.”
Thors also encouraged open dialogue at the local level about issues that might affect inter‑ethnic relations, including proposals regarding street names and other onomastic changes.
During her visit to Kazakhstan the High Commissioner met with Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov, Prosecutor General Askhat Daulbayev, Speaker of the Mazhilis Kabibulla Dzhakupov, Human Rights Commissioner Askar Shakirov and Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast Erik Sultanov.