OSCE Programme Office in Astana supports annual Youth Legal Forum in Kazakhstan

The annual OSCE-supported International Youth Legal Forum, which is held in recognition of the Human Rights Day and was dedicated to mechanisms of human rights protection this year, concluded on 14 December 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Some 70 students of law faculties from Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine, as well as international and national legal experts, state officials, civil society representatives and academics discussed issues related to international human rights standards, existing mechanisms for their implementation and strengthening universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In the framework of the forum, 16 student teams took part in a competition on developing written guidelines on the most effective legal tools for human rights protection at various levels. Guest lectures and workshops encouraged the students to analyse current challenges linked to different forms of discrimination, hatred and violation of human dignity.

The four-day forum was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Kazakh Humanities and Law University (KAZGUU) and the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan in order to create a platform for interaction between students from various universities and develop their critical thinking with respect to contemporary challenges in the international legal system. 

This is the eleventh year that the Programme Office has supported the Youth Legal Forum, which is part of the Office’s long-standing efforts to promote youth participation in decision-making processes.