Events
High Commissioner Vollebaek to pay visit to Kazakhstan
When
8 October 2007 (All day) - 10 October 2007 (All day)
Where
Almaty-Astana, Kazakhstan
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek will discuss the situation of national minorities in Kazakhstan with the President, State Secretary, Foreign Minister and other high officials, as well as with Kazakhstan's ethnic communities.
In Almaty and Astana, the HCNM will hold talks on ways in which the HCNM can assist Kazakhstan build on its achievements in the field of ethnic policy.
The Government has recently taken an important initiative with respect to minority representation in the parliament of Kazakhstan. The High Commissioner will suggest that the election mechanism be adjusted in order to secure better legitimacy of the representatives. Furthermore, the authorities in Astana and the HCNM will jointly look for ways of addressing such complex issues as enhancing the knowledge and use of the State language of Kazakhstan, while also ensuring the linguistic rights of national minorities. A number of practical initiatives will also be touched upon, including the subtitling of news broadcasts, the training of teachers of minority mother tongues and possible expansion of the ongoing joint undertaking that aims at boosting grant-based university enrolment among minority-language school leavers.
The Government has recently taken an important initiative with respect to minority representation in the parliament of Kazakhstan. The High Commissioner will suggest that the election mechanism be adjusted in order to secure better legitimacy of the representatives. Furthermore, the authorities in Astana and the HCNM will jointly look for ways of addressing such complex issues as enhancing the knowledge and use of the State language of Kazakhstan, while also ensuring the linguistic rights of national minorities. A number of practical initiatives will also be touched upon, including the subtitling of news broadcasts, the training of teachers of minority mother tongues and possible expansion of the ongoing joint undertaking that aims at boosting grant-based university enrolment among minority-language school leavers.