The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan, held the second public lecture dedicated to the mandate of the Commissioner and the mission of the Council of Europe. It also included an introductory lecture on data protection issues in the era of digitalisation as viewed by the European Court of Human Rights.
The event took place on the premises of “KMG Engineering” LLP and gathered staff of its central office and regional branches. It attracted a total of around 300 participants on site and more than 500 online attendees, reflecting strong interest in human rights and digital-era challenges among professionals and experts from across the country.
The lecture opened with welcoming remarks by Rakhim UTAYEV, General Director of KMG Engineering, and Artur LASTAEV, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In her presentation, Konul GASIMOVA, Head of Unit of the Co-operation Programmes Division of the Council of Europe, outlined the mission, role and values of the Council of Europe, highlighting the Organisation’s cooperation with national human rights institutions and its long-standing support for strengthening the independence and effectiveness of ombudsperson institutions.
Anvar SABIROV, Deputy Head of the National Centre for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan, introduced the audience to the main activities and priorities of the Ombudsperson institution, including its role in handling individual complaints, conducting monitoring, and promoting human rights awareness and education.
The lecture also featured an introductory lecture by Dmytro TRETYAKOV, lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights, on data protection issues in the context of digitalisation. Drawing on the Court’s jurisprudence and the European Convention on Human Rights, he highlighted the key aspects of data protection issues and discussed the challenges posed by new technologies and global digitalisation.
Participants expressed strong interest in the presentations and engaged actively in discussions on the relevance of these topics for Kazakhstan’s human rights system and institutional practice.
The lecture was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Reinforcing the institutional capacity of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) institution in Kazakhstan” implemented under the Council of Europe Neighbourhood Cooperation Priorities with the Republic of Kazakhstan, funded by Germany.