News

Trade Union Leader Faces Prison Time in Kazakhstan Authorities Should Take Urgent Steps to Address ILO Concerns

As pressure built against Kazakhstan at the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) conference in Geneva this month to address the country’s poor record on trade union rights, authorities back home are seeking to jail an independent trade union leader.

ITUC letter to President Tokayev re violations of ILO Conv. 87/trial E. Baltabay

Here you can find a letter sent by ITUC to the President of Kazakhstan regarding violations of ILO Convention 87.

Kazakhstan’s Workers’ Rights Crackdown Under Fresh Scrutiny Reforms Urgently Needed to Protect Unions and Employees

As the International Labour Organisation (ILO) celebrates its Centenary this week, one of its key committees decided today to examine once again the grim situation for labor rights in Kazakhstan.
The move is not a surprise. In the two years since the ILO’s Committee on the Application of Standards, which examines how states comply with ILO treaties, last reviewed Kazakhstan, its government has dragged its feet on much-needed legal reforms and continued to try to silence critical voices in the workplace.

Kazakhstan: Judge’s complaint alarms legal profession

A lawyer in Kazakhstan known for taking on politically sensitive cases is fighting off a judicial complaint that could lead to her disbarment.
Gulnara Zhuaspayeva told a press conference in Almaty on April 1 that she believes this is an attempt to intimidate her into desisting from her work.

Kazakh Activist In Restive Town Arrested, Charged With Hooliganism

A court in Kazakhstan's southwestern town of Zhanaozen on March 26 ordered a leader of recent protests staged by jobless young people placed in pre-trial arrest for two months.

RFE/RL Kazakh Correspondent Detained Again In Restive Zhanaozen

An RFE/RL correspondent in Kazakhstan has been fined after being detained for the third time in weeks in the restive city of Zhanaozen, where she has been covering ongoing rallies.

Kazakhstan police detain, fine journalist covering Zhanaozen rallies

Saniya Toiken was fined $113 for purportedly failing to submit to police orders

Majlis Podcast: Where Is Kazakhstan Headed As Frustration Continues To Grow?

At the start of February, a fire killed five girls, aged 3 months to 13 years, in their home in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. It happened when both parents had to work overnight.

Workers At Kazakh Pipeline Firm End Strike After Promise Of Salary Raise

Striking workers at an oil and natural-gas pipeline producing company in western Kazakhstan have been promised a salary increase by the firm's management.

Submission by Human Rights Watch to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on Kazakhstan

This submission is for consideration during the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ review Kazakhstan. It focuses on the crackdown on the independent trade union movement and attacks on workers’ rights; discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; the protection of students, teachers, and schools in situations of armed conflict; and inclusive education in Kazakhstan.