Building Human Rights and Civil Society in Kazakhstan

Central to building democracy in the former Soviet republics is the development of a civil society that will complement and strengthen new democratic structures.  Of the five Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan is best situated to build a civil society, market economy, and working democracy.  Education levels are high, and the country has an abundance of natural resources, most notably oil.  However, social organizations are weak.  Few have regular access to the country’s legislators.

This project is designed to help develop strong and enduring linkages between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members of parliament in Kazakhstan.  The project consists of American specialists on democracy, civil and human rights, and legislatures cooperating with key Kazakh participants to strengthen civil society in Kazakhstan

In the first phase of the project, four American specialists travel to the capital, Astana, to conduct workshops on how NGOs can work most effectively with members of the legislature to communicate information and needs of their members to government officials.  During the second phase the Kazakh Director and advisers will work with NGOs to develop legislative proposals on human rights, to be submitted to the national and regional legislatures.  The Director and advisers will also publish and disseminate materials to NGOs on effective lobbying strategies, and will work with legislators to help them understand that NGOs may be useful partners in law making.  The third and final phase of the project will involve the American participants returning to Kazakhstan for additional workshops, to assess and evaluate the project and make recommendations for further efforts to strengthen civil society.