Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

Kazakhstan

Information received from the Government of Kazakhstan on the implementation of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/KAZ/CO/4-5) *

Information on the implementation of the concluding observations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as a result of consideration of the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Additional information on the implementation of point 9 of the concluding observations (CERD/C/KAZ/CO/4-5)

1.As prescribed by the Constitution, the Act on education and the Act on languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the State attends to the creation of favourable conditions for the study and development of all languages of the multi-ethnic people of Kazakhstan. Each ethnic group living in Kazakhstan has the right to form its own ethno-cultural unions and Sunday schools, which further the revival and development of national languages, culture, traditions and customs.

2.In the 2010/2011 academic year, 13,133 pupils at 108 general secondary schools are studying 16 ethnic languages as subjects in their own right. These languages are: German, Polish, Korean, Dungan, Kurdish, Turkish, Tatar, Azerbaijani, Uighur, Chechen, Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Lezgin, Ukrainian and Belarusian.

3.In places with sizeable ethnic populations, Sunday schools and language courses at national culture centres have been set up alongside ordinary schools to enable additional study of the State language and of ethnic languages.

4.There are 81 functioning Sunday schools in the Republic, attended by 3,956 children and young people. Pupils at these schools can, as an option or in circles, study the traditions, customs, and languages of the 16 ethnic groups which are concentrated in regions of the Republic (German, Korean, Tatar, Polish, Ukrainian, Armenian, Greek, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ingush,Belorussian, Chuvash, Bulgarian, Bashkir, Tajik and Czech). At present 78,921 pupils are studying in the Uzbek language at 58 schools in the Republic where instruction is in Uzbek and at 83 schools with mixed languages; 14,424 pupils are studying in the Uighur language at 14 schools where instruction is in the Uighur language and at 49 schools with mixed languages; and 3,615 pupils are studying in the Tajik language at 2 schools where instruction is in the Tajik language and at 10 schools with mixed languages.

5.All education institutions, regardless of their form of ownership, ensure knowledge and development of the Kazakh language as a State language, as well as study of Russian and one foreign language in accordance with general State education standards for each stage of education. National olympiads are held in the Republic each year in the Uighur and Uzbek languages and literature. Pupils of the above-mentioned schools take an active part in the Akbota national mathematics competition, the Kangaroo international mathematics olympiad, as well as in science competitions at national level.

6.Text books, created in Kazakhstan, and written in the Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek and Uighur languages have been designed and gradually introduced into the educational process as part of the special programme for preparation and publication of text books and educational resources for general schools. Acquisition of text books for pupils at schools where instruction is in the Uzbek language is 88.7 per cent financed by local government budgets, and the respective figures for Uighur and Tajik schools are 99 per cent and 87.9 per cent.

7.In 2005 textbooks in Tajik for pupils in class 1 —Alifbe and Zaboni modari (literary readings)— were prepared and published in print runs of 2,000 copies each at the expense of local budgets. The State programme for development of education in 2011-2020 envisages provision of free textbooks and study materials to all school pupils at the expense of local budgets, by gradual procurement of 100% of text books each year. The resource base of such schools is improving year by year. Local budgets are also assisting with provision of up-to-date computers and interactive boards. All schools have telephone connections and are connected to the Internet. Financing of education is being steadily increased (by 9.7 per cent in 2010 compared with 2009).

8.The principal task today is to adapt young people who complete school education in the Uzbek, Uighur and Tajik languages so that they can obtain further education in Kazakhstan and, specifically, be integrated with the language environment. The system of uniform national testing (“UNT”) for young people completing schools with instruction in the Kazakh and Russian languages, as well as complex testing of higher-education applicants (“CTA”), are provided only in Kazakh and Russian. Pupils at schools where teaching is in the languages of ethnic minorities take school-leaving exams in their ethnic language.

9.Since 2007 school leavers at Uzbek, Uighur and Tajik schools have had the option of taking part in UNT in the Russian or Kazakh languages. From 2009 this practice has been made fully official, allowing pupils of these schools to undergo uniform national testing if they so wish. Pupils from schools with instruction in ethnic minority languages who wish to enter higher education institutions undergo CTA and, based on their results, take part in a competition to obtain State education grants.

10.A pilot project, “Integration of school leavers with the Uzbek language in the general education and information space of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, is being implemented with support from the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. Results show the project to have been successful: most school leavers from schools in the project secure State grants and obtain places at higher education institutions in Kazakhstan.

11.Schools in the project teach main subjects (other than languages) in two languages, i.e. bilingually: in the ethnic language and in the State language (Kazakh) or in the ethnic language and the Russian language. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of results of the teaching process based on multilingual and bilingual instruction confirms the efficiency of this innovative approach. This practice will make it possible to significantly expand access to technical, vocational, and higher education for school leavers from Uzbek-, Uighur- and Tajik-language schools. For example, in 2004 only 13 young people from Yu. Saremi General School-Gymnasium No. 1, or 7.2 per cent of total 181 school leavers, entered higher education institutions with grants, while in 2010 the figure had risen to 106 out of 121 (87.6 per cent), of whom 76 (62.8 per cent) obtained State education grants. In order to improve children’s level of knowledge of the State language, two extra hours per week in each class have been allocated to study of Kazakh as the State language in classes 1-11 of schools where instruction is in the Russian, Uzbek, Uighur or Tajik languages. From the last academic year, studies in Kazakh in classes 5-11 at these schools have used the curriculum of schools where the language of instruction is Kazakh.

12.Programmes for graded study of languages (Kazakh as the State language, Russian as second language, and also English) have been designed and approved based on the European standard for language knowledge, the conceptual basis of which is the system for grades of language knowledge presented in the Council of Europe document, “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment”. Starting in the 2010-2011 academic year, graded programmes in the Kazakh language have been included in the study process for classes 1-11 at schools where the language of instruction is not Kazakh. From a total year group of 7,175 school leavers at such schools in 2010, a total of 543 participated in the UNT, 1278 in the CTA, 73 obtained an “Altyn begli” certificate of secondary education, and 183 obtained certificates of excellence. The number entering higher education institutions was 1,263, of whom 806 obtained educational grants.

13.The Ministry of Education and Science holds conferences, meetings and seminars on ways of strengthening the social integration of school pupils at schools where instruction is in the Uzbek, Uighur and Tajik languages into Kazakhstan’s general education and information space through multilingual and bilingual education.

14.An international conference was held in the city of Shymkent in May 2009 and a national seminar in Almaty in April 2010 was attended by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. Representatives of all ethnic groups receive education at technical, vocational and higher education institutions in the Republic. Students at higher education institutions include representatives of 86 ethnic minorities, constituting 7.8 per cent of the total number of students (610,200). Representatives of ethnic minorities pursue their studies at higher education institutions in Kazakhstan in the subjects and in the language chosen by them. Five grants are awarded each year for the subject “Foreign-language philology: the Uzbek language”. The number of grants in the same series for other ethnic languages are: ten for Korean, five for Uighur, and five for Polish. These awards represent 20 per cent of total grant awards in the “Foreign-language philology” category.

15.Training of teachers to work at schools where instruction is provided in ethnic minority languages is provided at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, the Abylai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages, the M. Auyezov State University of Southern Kazakhstan, U. Zhangsugurov State University, and Zharkent Pedagogical College.

16.Each year five school leavers from schools with instruction in the Uighur language who have won prizes in national olympiads and are holders of “Altyn begli” certificates are awarded grants to study at the Uighur Language and Literature Faculty of Abai Pedagogical University. At present there are 8,772 teachers working at schools with instruction in ethnic minority languages, 83.2 per cent of whom have higher education, and 16.3 per cent of whom have vocational secondary education. Teachers at schools with instruction in minority languages can attend further training courses at institutes for further training of teaching staff, which exist in all of Kazakhstan’s provinces, and also at provincial pedagogical institutes and further training centres, which are attached to them. Further training institutes cooperate with the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan and with cultural centres. Language specialists are hired from countries including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Germany. Teachers at schools in Kazakhstan with instruction in the Uzbek language take part in various Uzbek language and literature forums in Uzbekistan.

17.Familiarization visits to Latvia and Kirgizia have been organized for teachers at schools with instruction in the Uzbek and Tajik languages in order to study bilingual teaching and the experience of non-native language teachers.

18.A system of interactive study using the Internet has been designed to help create a unified information and education space for regions of the Republic and to develop the practice of online study. Since September 2007 representatives of Government, social activists, academics, writers, journalists, and teachers who are applying innovative approaches to their subjects all take part in weekly interactive lessons. The Government has put conditions in place for members of national minorities to study the State language in order to enjoy equal opportunities in social and professional life. Centres for study of the Kazakh language operate at 33 higher education institutions in all regions of Kazakhstan. These centres provide education services to all those who wish to study the State language or to improve their knowledge of Kazakh.

Additional information on the implementation of point 16 of the concluding observations

19.In order to protect the domestic labour market, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan sets an annual quota for hiring of specialists from abroad to work in the Republic. The highest quota level in the period 2007-2010 was in 2008, when the quota was equal to 1.6 per cent of the Republic’s able-bodied population, representing an increase of more than 1.5 times compared with 2007. In order to protect citizens of Kazakhstan from the threat of unemployment in the context of the world financial crisis, the quota was subsequently lowered in 2009 by more than two times to 0.75 per cent of the able-bodied population. The indicator remained at that level in 2010, representing 63,700 foreign workers.

20.The legislation currently in force requires annual quotas for hiring of foreign labour to be set, based on analysis of the domestic labour market, requests from employers and the proposals of relevant State bodies.

21.The quota for foreign workers was raised in 2011 to 0.85 per cent of the able-bodied population or 73,500 people. The largest number of people who came to work in the Republic (about 90 per cent) were from countries outside the former Soviet Union, including China (23.6 per cent), Turkey (18.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (8.6 per cent), India (7.6 per cent), and Italy (4.6 per cent). According to local government reporting as of 1 January 2011, a total of 3,004 employers were using foreign workers (33 per cent more than in 2007). The workforces of these employers consisted of 424,000 Kazakh citizens (47.5 per more than in 2007) and 29,300 foreign nationals (44.6 per cent fewer than in 2007). In accordance with Decree No. 1066 of the President of Kazakhstan, dated 22 September 2010, “On certain issues in implementation of Decree No. 1039 of the President of Kazakhstan, dated 17 August 2010”, ministerial functions in respect of migration and refugee issues are transferred to the competence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the exception of functions for setting quotas on hiring of foreign labour and making of one-off payments and compensations to Oralman and members of their families who came to the Republic on the basis of quotas for Oralman immigration. Work is continuing on a new draft version of the Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan on population migration, which is now before the Majilis (lower house) of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. New arrangements for hiring foreign labour to work in the Republic will be designed as part of the implementation of the new Act and will include a selective approach in hiring of foreign labour.

22.New foreign labour categories are being introduced: foreign workers, seasonal foreign workers and business immigrants. There are plans to introduce various quota types for hiring of foreign labour: by categories, by regions, by countries, by sectors and for particularly important projects. It is intended that a list of jobs, specializations and professions which are in acute shortage on the labour market in Kazakhstan should be prepared, and that work permits should be issued directly using a simplified procedure to foreign workers with the relevant skills. Work to prevent illegal migration is carried out in close association with competent bodies in member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on the basis of the Agreement on cooperation between CIS member States to combat illegal migration, documents adopted pursuant to this Agreement and as part of unions, organizations and communities created by members of the CIS, such as the Eurasian Economic Community, the Common Economic Space, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as in the framework of bilateral agreements (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine).

23.In order to regulate the process of return and reception of migrants, who have illegally entered the territories of the Agreement parties, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working on preparation of readmission agreements with Ukraine, the Russian Federation and countries of Central Asia (15 countries in total). These documents are now being processed at national level. In 2009 an Agreement on readmission was signed with Germany, in February 2010 with Switzerland, and in 2011 with Norway and the Czech Republic (they are now being prepared for ratification). An Agreement on cooperation to combat illegal labour migration from third countries was signed in November 2010 as part of work on formation on the Common Economic Space and the Customs Union. Measures are constantly in force as part of the “Migrant” national operation, including the cross-border frontier control projects, “Illegal Migrant” and “Border”. National legislation in the sphere of migration regulation is being constantly improved. A draft Act on migration, now before the Kazakh Parliament, updates the legal foundations for regulating migration issues, taking account of Kazakhstan’s geo-political interests, its development, national consolidation, achievement of security and stability, and the goal of improving living standards.

24.The “Nurli kosh” programme, which has been approved for implementation in 2009‑2011, aims to achieve rational settlement and assistance in integration for ethnic immigrants who are former citizens of Kazakhstan and who have entered the country for purposes of work, and also for citizens of Kazakhstan living in depressed areas of the country, in order to support demographic and socio-economic development of the country’s regions and realization of the potential of programme participants.

25.A centre has been set up in Karaganda, at the Barimbek Beisenov Legal Institute of the Internal Affairs Ministry, for training of specialists in combatting illegal migration and trafficking in persons. The new institution will also be the basis for a new international training centre to prepare specialists for the Central Asian region, which is to be created with the support of the International Organization for Migration (“IOM”). Two seminars were held at the Karaganda Centre in 2010 on the theme, “Migration policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan: development and prospects”, which were attended by 38 personnel from units of the migration police (part of the Department of Internal Affairs). Representatives of social and non-governmental organizations in Kazakhstan took part in the seminar, as did representatives of the Kazakh International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law. The seminar looked at key issues in development of migration policy in Kazakhstan for the period 2007-2015. Further, as part of the work schedule of the Academy of State Management attached to the President of Kazakhstan, a seminar was held from 14 to 18 March 2011 on further training of civil servants. The theme of the seminar was: “Migration policy and the problems of refugees in the context of national and international security”.

26.Principles of transparency and legitimacy are observed by constant monitoring of legal access for migrants to mechanisms for appealing against deportation and establishing the legitimacy of their presence in the country. In case of violation of any residence conditions, an illegal migrant is subject to national and recognized international sanctions of arrest, return and/or deportation.

27.Deportation of foreigners and stateless persons beyond the borders of the Republic of Kazakhstan is applied as an administrative sanction for violation of residence rules that are established by law and is only applied on the order of a court, based on articles of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

28.Measures are constantly applied to ensure the appropriate investigation, criminal prosecution and punishment of employers and intermediaries who are responsible for violation of the rights of migrant workers and of foreigners. Units responsible for combatting organized crime carry out special work to eliminate and prevent instances of trafficking in persons and associated crimes. In 2010 units for combatting trafficking in persons initiated 279 criminal cases, of which 22 concerned human trafficking, 17 were for trafficking of under-aged persons, 21 were for kidnapping with the intention to exploit, 21 were for illegal imprisonment with the intention to exploit, 7 were for suborning to and practising prostitution, and 191 were for sexual procurement and maintaining a brothel. For the first time in Kazakhstan, four organized crime groups involved in exploitation of people were broken up. During 2010 a total of 82 people were identified as being victims of trafficking in persons (the figures in 2009 and 2008 were, respectively, 59 and 50).

29.In one of the instances referred to above, criminal proceedings were initiated in April 2010 under article 235 of part 1 of the Criminal Code and article 270 of part 2 of the Criminal Code against a self-employed businessman and four accomplices, who organized and maintained a brothel for purposes of prostitution at a hotel in Almaty under the pretence of legal business. All of the guilty persons were sentenced in September 2010 to periods of imprisonment between four and five years. Special preventative actions, “STOP Trafficking”, are carried out in the Republic on a quarterly basis in order to identify, prevent and solve crimes associated with trafficking in persons. Such actions were carried out in February, May, August and November of the present year, and 60 criminal cases were opened. Measures are carried out on a regular basis for implementation of the 2009‑2011 action plan of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for combatting, preventing and reducing the number of crimes associated with trafficking in persons, and for implementing the 2010-2011 joint plan with the Office of the Procurator-General for checks of employment agencies, organizations offering services for arrangement of foreign travel, modelling agencies and marriage agencies.

30.The Ministry of Internal Affairs takes an active part in measures to prevent instances of trafficking in persons. In the current year:

(a)A 24-hour confidential phone line (11616) has been organized, which will be accessible in all regions of the country from urban fixed and mobile telephones;

(b)In order to encourage practical application and exchange of positive experience the Criminal Police Committee has compiled directories of verdicts in criminal cases concerning trafficking in persons and related crimes and has sent the directories to regional units of the Department of Internal Affairs specialized in combatting trafficking in persons;

(c)A periodical publication, Combatting trafficking in persons in Kazakhstan, has been set up in association with the IOM (published in Kazakh, Russian and English);

(d)Pens with the confidential hotline number, 11616, have been manufactured in association with the Kazakhstan Crisis Centre Union (a union of legal entities). The pens were distributed during the STOP-Trafficking campaign.

31.A national seminar-meeting, “Mechanisms for combatting trafficking in persons”, was held in April of the current year on the initiative of the Crisis Centre Union, the OSCE Centre in Astana, the IOM in Kazakhstan and the Embassy of the United States to Kazakhstan. Participants included experts from the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and representatives of non-governmental organizations from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

32.In August 2010 the Ministry of Internal Affairs in association with the Crisis Centre Union and with the support of the IOM held an action, “Let’s stop trafficking in persons!”, in Astana and Almaty to mark International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took part in a number of meetings and conferences during 2010, including:

(a)A round table, “Migration challenges in modern Kazakhstan: discussion and solutions”, organized by the IOM in Kazakhstan;

(b)A press conference, “Combatting trafficking in persons”, organized by the US Embassy to Kazakhstan to mark National Freedom Day in the US and the month dedicated to combatting slavery and trafficking in persons;

(c)A working meeting with representatives of the IOM in Kazakhstan, the US Embassy to Kazakhstan, the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Crisis Centre Union for discussion of joint actions;

(d)Work by the international research and applications conference: “Human measurement of the OSCE: general and thematic priorities in 2010”, organized by the Parliamentary Institute of the political party “Nur Otan”, the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan;

(e)A national training seminar, “Legal education in combatting trafficking in persons”, organized by the “Sana Sez m” women’s initiative legal centre with support of the European Union in Kazakhstan and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights;

(f)Joint consultations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Austria on issues of combatting trafficking in persons, illegal drug traffic and migration;

(g)A meeting with international experts of the World Bank on issues of research into alternative cash transfer systems used for money laundering;

(h)The ninth session of the Subcommittee for Justice and Law Enforcement “Kazakhstan – European Union”;

(i)The round table, “Transparency and efficiency of social rehabilitation and adaptation of victims of brutality”, organized by Status Women’s Federation (a social organization), supported by the OSCE in Astana and the IOM;

(j)An interdepartmental regional seminar, held in the settlement of Borovoye in Akmola province, on the theme “Interaction between law enforcement and state bodies in combatting cross-border crime, illegal drug traffic, terrorism and trafficking in persons, and in improving methods of collection of legal statistical information”, organized by the Committee for legal statistics and special accounting of the Office of the Procurator‑General of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with support from the US Embassy to Kazakhstan.

33.Staff of units specialized in combatting trafficking in persons also took part in events abroad, including:

(a)A workshop, “The fight against contemporary forms of slavery: national, regional and international experience”, held in Ulan Bator (Mongolia) and organized under the aegis of the Kazakh chairmanship of the OSCE jointly with the Government of Mongolia.

(b)A meeting in Moscow of a working group attached to the Coordination Council of the heads of competent bodies of member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for combatting illegal migration and trafficking in persons.

(c)A forum in Doha (Qatar), “Arab initiative for creation of national capacities to combat trafficking in persons”, organized with the support and under the aegis of the Government of Qatar jointly with the Qatar association for combatting trafficking in persons and UNODC.

(d)The first meeting, held in Antalya (Turkey), of heads of police services of members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

(e)The conference, held in Vienna (Austria), of the eleventh Alliance for combatting trafficking in persons, organized by the OSCE.

(f)The third annual interregional seminar, held in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), on strengthening of international legal cooperation between origin, transit and destination countries in combatting the trafficking of persons in Central Asia. The seminar was organized by the regional representative office of UNODC in Central Asia in cooperation with the National Committee of the United Arab Emirates for combatting trafficking in persons.

(g)The international conference, “Resisting trafficking in persons: new challenges and threats. Joint actions by government, international and non-governmental organizations”, organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, the IOM, the Swedish International Development Agency and the Swedish Institute in Minsk (Belarus).

(h)A working meeting in Yerevan (Armenia) between heads and experts of Interior Ministry units specialized in combatting trafficking in persons from member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

(i)The third meeting in Istanbul (Turkey) of interior ministers of member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation, which discussed issues of combatting organized crime, the drugs trade, terrorism, illegal migration, trafficking in persons and also cooperation in ensuring the rule of law.

34.Kazakh legislation specifies criminal responsibility for trafficking in persons. Laws and regulations regarding trafficking in persons are enhanced and amended as necessary, international conventions and protocols are ratified, and agreements are signed. The Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan on government protection of persons taking part in criminal proceedings was passed in 2001 and specifies that security of the victims of trafficking in persons is protected in the course of investigation and of court cases concerning trafficking in persons.

35.Amendments made in 2009 specify that protection of persons is also ensured before criminal charges are brought. A draft Act on amendments and additions to some legal provisions of the Republic of Kazakhstan concerning protection of child rights has been prepared on the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which would supplement the Criminal Code with new articles 132-1 (“Suborning a minor to prostitution”) and 273-1 (“Production and circulation of materials or items with pornographic representation of minors or inducement of minors to take part in performances of a pornographic nature”). The draft has been approved in Parliament by the Majilis (lower house).

36.In 2009 the Ministry of Internal Affairs ensured signing of inter-governmental agreements with France and Italy and a readmission agreement with Germany. In February 2010 a readmission agreement was signed with Switzerland (ratification is imminent). Design and completion of national procedures have also been initiated for readmission agreements with Ukraine, the Russia Federation, and Central Asian countries, and more than 15 international treaty drafts have been prepared for combatting trafficking in persons (with countries including Spain, Greece and Austria).

37.Since gaining independence the Republic of Kazakhstan has taken an active part in world migration processes as a country of arrival, transit and departure. Legal regulation of migration issues is based on the country’s Constitution, which was approved on 30 August 1995. In accordance with article 12 of the Constitution, foreigners and stateless persons in Kazakhstan have the same rights as the country’s citizens, unless otherwise specified in the Constitution, acts and international agreements. Freedom of movement inside Kazakhstan and freedom to choose place of residence are also enshrined in the Constitution as inalienable rights and freedoms of the individual, with the exception of instances specified by article 21 of the Constitution.

Additional information on the implementation of point 20 of the concluding observations

38.The Act on languages of the Republic of Kazakhstan, approved on 17 July 1997, specifies legal foundations for functioning of languages in Kazakhstan and duties of the State to create conditions for study and development of languages, as well as guaranteeing that all languages used in the Republic of Kazakhstan, without exception, will be accorded equal respect.

39.Article 21 of the above-mentioned law (“Language used in official forms and visual information”) clearly states that forms, signs, announcements, advertising materials, price lists, price tags, and other visual information are to be written in the State language and in Russian, and in other languages as necessary. All visual texts are arranged as follows: in the State language on the left or above and in Russian on the right or below, and letters sizes should be the same in both languages. Visual texts may be written in other languages as necessary. Size of letters should not exceed the stipulations of by-laws. In this respect it can be said that all necessary measures are taken to enable use of national minority languages, and the Government also creates the conditions and uses all available opportunities to meet the ethno-linguistic aspirations of citizens. Many representatives of ethnic communities support active study of the Kazakh language, as is required in order to achieve integration of young people into Kazakh society and to prepare for their professional future.