The Council of Europe’s continues to support Kazakhstan in its ambitious reform agenda. The Council of Europe Neighbourhood Co-operation Priorities with Kazakhstan 2024-2027, jointly developed with the Kazakh authorities, were presented at a high-level conference held in Astana on 30 May 2025. The event, which aimed to showcase the first results achieved under the new framework, was opened by Council of Europe Secretary General, Alain Berset, and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Justice, Yerlan Sarsembayev. It brought together representatives of the Council of Europe, national authorities, international diplomats, and media.

This is the third such co-operation framework between the Council of Europe and Kazakhstan, building on over a decade of co-operation. Since 2014, Kazakhstan has worked closely with the Council of Europe to strengthen national efforts in the areas of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. The 2024-2027 priorities introduce new areas of collaboration, supporting Kazakhstan’s national reform agenda.

In the field of human rights, the new priorities aim to advance the prevention of ill-treatment, combat violence against women, promote the protection of children’s rights. A particular focus will be placed on building the capacity of legal professionals to apply national legislation and follow practices in line with European and international human rights standards.

In the field of democracy, the co-operation framework will support Kazakhstan’s decentralisation process and efforts to strengthen the role of its Parliament in promoting democracy and human rights, through Council of Europe expertise.

In line with the increasing engagement, Kazakhstan has expressed willingness to undertake new commitments by requesting accession to several key Council of Europe Conventions. These include the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, and the Convention on Cybercrime. Kazakhstan became a member of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on 1 January 2020.

The main objective of the conference was to present the achievements of the first year of implementation of the Neighbourhood Co-operation Priorities and to define the priority areas for future collaboration within the framework.

 Download the Council of Europe Neighbourhood Co-operation Priorities with Kazakhstan 2024-2027 – available in English, French, Kazakh, and Russian

 Read the key highlights of the Council of Europe Neighbourhood Co-operation Priorities with Kazakhstan 2024-2027 – available in English, Kazakh, and Russian

 Visit the Kazakhstan country page of the Directorate of Programme Co-ordination website