The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), along with the Legal Media Center and the Association of Religious Organizations of Kazakhstan, organized two briefing meetings for government agencies, experts, and representatives from religious communities in the cities of Karaganda and Shymkent. These events were conducted with the assistance of the Committee for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as local departments for religious affairs.
Over 50 representatives from government agencies, religious associations, and civil society attended the briefing sessions. The primary objective of these events was to present and discuss the IWPR analytical report titled “Overview of the Situation with Religious Freedom and an Analysis of Legal Norms in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
According to the report, the current Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Religious Activities and Religious Associations” restricts the constitutional norm on freedom of conscience and reduces the right to freedom of religion to the activities of religious associations. The law establishes a framework for the activities of religious associations, with the intention of regulating public and state security from potential illegal actions resulting from the realization of the right to freedom of conscience.
The report also highlights problems with the terminology used in legislation relating to religion, the mandatory registration of religious associations, and the existence of religious (theological) expertise, among other factors that impact freedom of religion.
At the beginning of the events, Ayan Oryntay, the project manager of IWPR in Kazakhstan, spoke about the organization, goals, and objectives of the project:
“Currently, IWPR is implementing a two-year project “Religious Freedom for Kazakhstan”, aimed at improving legislation in the field of religion in accordance with international principles and standards as well as promotion of respect for religious freedom and interfaith dialogue”.
Gulmira Birzhanova, co-founder of the public foundation “Legal Media Center,” highlighted several issues, including those related to the mandatory religious expertise and the possibility of broad and ambiguous interpretations of existing laws.
“Despite the recent trends towards liberalization of human rights, the issue of ensuring fundamental rights of citizens to freedom of religion remains relevant and, one might say, unresolved,” Birzhanova stated.
She noted that there are 3,654 places of worship operating in Kazakhstan, including 2,744 mosques, 299 Orthodox churches, 111 Catholic churches, 411 Protestant prayer houses, 54 prayer houses of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 24 prayer houses of the New Apostolic Church, 6 synagogues, 2 prayer houses of Bahai and the Society of Krishna Consciousness, as well as 1 Buddhist temple.
Given the multi-confessional nature of Kazakhstan, Gulmira Birzhanova emphasized the importance of providing each religion with a legal framework that enables the full realization of the right to freedom of religion.
One of the co-authors of the analytical report, candidate of legal sciences, Mereke Gabdualliyev, addressed the issue of the ban on wearing religious clothes in schools.
“How justified are the actions of school administrations to prevent them from attending classes because students wear headscarves and thereby limit the rights to receive a guaranteed secondary education in state educational institutions? Why are the internal regulations of schools placed above the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan?” he asks.
Danil Buglov, a representative of the Association of Religious Organizations of Kazakhstan, highlighted the issue of mandatory registration for religious associations as a fundamental problem today.
“Individuals who profess a religion or hold beliefs have this right by birth. They are right holders, this right cannot be granted and this is not a privilege or an option. Just look at Article 18 [of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]. It does not say that “a person has the right only if he or she has been registered, fulfilled all requirements and made an examination of the book”, Buglov emphasized.
Oleg Vlasenko, the head of the local Seventh-day Adventist church in Karaganda, also shared his thoughts on the current state of the law related to religion in Kazakhstan:
“Our law places more obligations on believers than it does respect for their rights, and that’s not right. Due to the mandatory registration requirement for religious associations, many organizations did not cease to exist, but only went underground.”
Yerzhan Baibol, an expert in the field of religion, emphasized the need for preventive measures to avoid conflicts and extremism while speaking at an event in Shymkent.
“To achieve this, it is essential to establish an educational program on religious freedom and adopt a comprehensive plan for 2024-2028. Through the execution of educational projects for targeted sectors, we will have a significant opportunity to prevent violence and conflicts in religious circles and enhance interfaith harmony,” he stated.
Amanzhol Urazbayev, the chairman of the republican public association “Counter-Terrorism Committee,” emphasized the significance of maintaining a balance between national security and freedom of religion in Kazakhstan.
“It is crucial to develop conceptual approaches to regulating the sensitive topic of religious freedom of citizens without abusing references to threats to national security,” he stated.
Analyzing law enforcement practice in the field of religion in Kazakhstan, Viktor Ovsyannikov, a representative of the Association of Religious Organizations of Kazakhstan, noted the problem of the excessive amount of fines for administrative offenses. For example, for violation of the law in the field of religious rites, ceremonies and meetings (Article 490 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), individuals can be fined for 172,500 tenge, and 690,000 tenge for legal entities with a suspension of activities for a period of three months. However, for similar offenses for non-religious organizations, the fine is four times less, and for individuals – twice.
“With regard to the activities of registered religious associations, the principle of humanization is not being applied, but, on the contrary, unreasonably high penalties are applied that are incommensurate with the offense,” Ovsyannikov believes.
During the briefing sessions, participants also shared their opinions and suggestions.
“I want to express my gratitude for organizing such an event. When I was first invited, I was skeptical and thought that the presentation would have a different purpose. However, during the event, I realized that it is very useful, especially for religious associations,” said Alexander Olikhver, a representative of the religious association “Society for Krishna Consciousness” in Shymkent.
Following the meetings, the event organizers took into account the recommendations of the local community and began to work on further improving the analytical report. The final report will be available soon on social networks and the project website.