The Council of Europe organised a seminar in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the Protection of women’s rights, in Astana on 3-4 April.
The aim of the seminar was to familiarise 40 civil servants and civil society organisations representatives from Kazakhstan with the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), to which Kazakhstan was invited to accede by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2020.
Special attention was also given to the effective communication of the principles of the Istanbul Convention, in particular through media channels and strategies for inter-agency cooperation.
The seminar was opened by Roman Vasilenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who reiterated the commitment of Kazakhstan to strengthen human rights, in particular the respect for gender equality, through ongoing cooperation with the Council of Europe. Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the European Union to Kazakhstan, underlined the necessity to recognise the existing problem of violence against women and provide protection to the victims, including through education and training.
The seminar was practical, engaging participants in working groups, interactive exercises, and facilitating active participation. The Council of Europe experts gave a comprehensive overview of the content of the Istanbul Convention, shared practices from its implementation in other countries and gave practical insights on the impact of the accession to the Convention.
The activity was organised in the framework of the action "HELP in Central Asia", within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2024, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
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