UNHCR opened its representation in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1995 to assist the country to protect over ten thousand refugees. The majority of those refugees either naturalized in the Republic of Kazakhstan or returned to their countries.
Kazakhstan acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of refugees (“1951 Convention”) and its 1967 Protocol in 1999. Kazakhstan is also a party to major international human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture (CAT), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other.
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Refugees was adopted in December 2009 and entered into force in January 2010. Since then, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has taken the full responsibility for Refugee Status Determination.
UNHCR aims at supporting the efforts of the Government of Kazakhstan in establishment of a functioning mechanism for referral of asylum-seekers between the border and competent State authorities. It aims at widening the range of rights of Convention refugees to ensure meaningful local integration, mainly through advocacy for the amendment of national legislation.
UNHCR actively promotes accession by the Government of Kazakhstan to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and assists the Government in developing and strengthening legal and administrative frameworks aimed at the identification, registration and protection of stateless persons and the prevention and reduction of statelessness.
Most of the identified cases of undetermined nationality in Kazakhstan are complex that require a lengthy process involving a third country, often another CIS country(ies), to ascertain the nationality of the individual concerned. UNHCR works with the NGO partners that provide legal service to resolve statelessness situation of the identified cases.
UNHCR collaborates with the Department of Emergency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Red Crescent Society, the UN agencies and international organizations, such as the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA), OSCE, to maintain awareness on the international standards, protection and humanitarian principles during the emergency situations. It entails expert advice, targeted trainings on specific themes and inclusive approach with regard to the national and UN disaster management platforms.
UNHCR Regional Representation for Central Asia is located in Almaty; UNHCR Kazakhstan Office is located in Nur-Sultan.