Kazakhstan made report on implementation of Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Kazakhstan’s delegation included representatives of the National Commission for Women and Family Demographic Policy under the President, the Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Agency for Civil Service Affairs, the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Labor and Social Protection of Population, Healthcare, Education and Science, Foreign Affairs, Information and Social Development, NGO, and the Commissioner for Human Rights.

Head of the delegation, Chairwoman of the National Commission G. Abdykalikova presented to the UN experts the Report on joint measures taken by the Government, Parliament and the non-governmental sector in Kazakhstan to increase the role of women in the socio-political, economic and social spheres, in the fight against discrimination against women.

The delegation members answered questions from the Committee’s experts and informed about the key transformations and changes to empower women in Kazakhstan, in particular:

• development of a coordination mechanism for implementation of the gender policy;

• increasing the representation of women in all spheres;

• expanding state support measures for starting a business, including for rural women;

• protecting women from violence, etc.

In their questions and comments, Committee’s members noted Kazakhstan's progress in implementing the Convention.

Thus, according to the World Economic Forum, in 2018, Kazakhstan ranked 60th among 149 countries in terms of gender gap rating, including 30th place in education, 32nd place in the realization of women's economic opportunities. According to the Human Development Report of the UN Development Program, for 2018 Kazakhstan ranked 58th in the Gender Development Index.

On the eve of the Committee meeting, a round table was held to discuss the Address of President K. Tokayev with an emphasis on gender equality. G. Abdykalikova, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Zh. Aitzhanova, Director General of the UN Office in Geneva T. Valovaya, as well as Permanent Representatives of Brazil, Korea, South Africa, and Thailand made speeches during the event.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is an agency of independent experts monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by States parties. Countries that have become parties to the treaty are required to submit reports to the Committee on the exercise of relevant rights once every four years. During its sessions, the Committee reviews the reports of each State party and presents them with its views and recommendations in the form of concluding observations. CEDAW is composed of 23 women's rights experts from around the world.