The next amendments to the legislation on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities are planned to be adopted in Kazakhstan
“On behalf of the Head of State, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan is working on a draft law” On ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities “, which is aimed at eliminating discrimination against persons with disabilities,” the press service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports.
This document is an additional agreement to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), which Kazakhstan ratified on February 20, 2015. According to the Convention, the states that have ratified it must take all measures, including legislative ones, to ensure an adequate standard of living for people with disabilities and their social protection. Currently, the bill is undergoing the approval procedure in state bodies.
“Ratification of the Optional Protocol gives the citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan the right to international protection of their economic, social and cultural rights. The Protocol establishes a mechanism for the consideration of individual complaints in cases of violation of these rights enshrined in the Convention. Similar mechanisms are provided for by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ”said Yerlan Aukenov, Vice Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Upon ratification of the Optional Protocol, the parties agree to recognize the competence of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consider complaints from individuals or groups who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated. The Committee can request information from the State party and make recommendations to it. In addition, the parties may authorize the Committee to investigate, report and recommend “serious or systematic violations” of the rights enshrined in the Convention.
The adoption of the draft law will not entail negative socio-economic and legal consequences, and will not require additional financial costs from the republican budget. Recall that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 13, 2006 in order to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, as well as to promote respect for their inherent dignity … Currently, 97 states are parties to the Convention, of which the neighboring countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Mongolia and Ukraine.