Back to Top

Source: The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency.

Organizational Forms

The Civil Code (CC) of Kazakhstan defines a non-commercial organization (NCO) as a legal entity that does not seek to produce income and that does not distribute earned net income to its participants. The CC recognizes a large number of organizational forms of NCOs: institutions, public associations, foundations, consumer cooperatives, religious associations, associations of individual entrepreneurs, and associations of legal entities. NCOs can also be created in other forms pursuant to separate laws, such as notary chambers, bar associations, chambers of commerce and industry, professional auditing organizations, cooperatives of apartment owners, and chambers of appraisers.

All legal entities created on the territory of Kazakhstan, regardless of the purpose of their creation, type and nature of activities, participants, or members, must register with the Ministry of Justice.

The most popular forms of NCOs are as follows:

1. An organization created and financed by its founder for the performance of managerial, social, cultural or any other functions of non-commercial nature (Article 105 of the CC).
2. Public associations. Political parties, professional unions and other associations of citizens created on a voluntary basis for the attainment of common goals which do not contradict legislation (Article 106 of the CC). The Law on Public Associations (PA Law) further categorizes public associations by territorial status. National public associations are associations that have subordinate structures (branches and representative offices) on the territories of more than a half of the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Regional public associations are associations with subordinate structures (branches and representative offices) on the territories of less than half of the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Local public associations are associations operating within the borders of one region of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Article 7 of the PA Law).
3. Foundations. A non-commercial organization without membership, which is founded by citizens and/or legal entities on the basis of their voluntary property contributions, and which pursues social, charity, cultural, educational, and any other publicly useful purposes (Article 107 of the CC).
4. Consumer cooperatives. A voluntary association of citizens on the basis of membership, formed for the satisfaction of their financial and other needs by means of pooling the property contributions of the individual members (Article 108 of the CC).
5. Religious associations. A voluntary association of citizens who unite in accordance with the procedure stipulated in legislative acts, on the basis of their common interests for satisfying their spiritual needs (Article 109 of the CC).
6. Associations of individual entrepreneurs and/or legal entities in a form of association (union). An association of either individual entrepreneurs or legal entities formed for the purpose of coordinating their entrepreneurial activity, as well as for representing and protection of their common interest (unions) (Article 110 of the CC).

According to the Ministry of Information and Public Development’s website, as of April 2023 there were 23,335 registered CSOs.

Public Benefit Status

On November 16, 2015, the President signed the Law on Charity, which for the first time established regulations on charitable activities in Kazakhstan. Before its adoption, Kazakh law did not use the term “charity” or “charitable organization.” Most charitable organizations were registered as public associations or foundations and therefore were regulated as NCOs.

The new law defines “charity” as “socially useful activities based on the rendering of charitable aid and the satisfaction of human needs carried out on a voluntary and free of charge basis or on preferential terms in the form of philanthropic, sponsorship and patronage activities, and also in the form of support to the small motherland.”

The law defines charitable aid as: “property provided by the benefactor on a gratuitous basis in order to assist the recipient in improving a financial and/or material situation: in the form of social support to the individual; or in the form of sponsorship aid; to a noncommercial organization with the purpose to support its statutory activities; and to an organization that carries out activities in the social sphere determined in accordance with the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘On Taxes and other Mandatory Payments to the Budget’ (the Tax Code);”

The Law further defines each of the forms of charity:

1. Sponsorship: “the activity of the sponsor on rendering sponsorship aid on the terms of popularizing the sponsor’s name in accordance with this Law, the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”
2. Patronage activity: “the activity of the patron on rendering charitable aid on the basis of goodwill in the development of science, education, culture, art, sportsmanship, preservation of the historical and ethnocultural heritage of society and the state in accordance with this Law, the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”
3. Philanthropic activity: “the voluntary activity of a philanthropist based on the distribution of their private resources to meet the needs of society and individuals, improve their living conditions in accordance with this Law, the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”
4. Support to the small motherland: “voluntary activity based on patriotism, aimed at providing support to the small motherland.” (The term “small motherland” refers to an administrative-territorial unit of the Republic of Kazakhstan where an individual was born and/or spent a part of their life.)

In July 2022 the new definitions were included into the Law: corporate philanthropy, defined as “voluntary activities of business entities to provide charitable assistance,” and digital philanthropy (or e-philanthropy), defined as “the activity of attracting voluntary donations in the form of money, carried out electronically.”

The Law defines “charitable organization” as a “noncommercial organization created for the purpose of charity in accordance with this Law, laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.” Under this definition, a charitable organization is not a new legal form of NCO that can be registered, but rather an informal status, as the Law does not provide any clarity regarding the process of acquiring status as a “charitable organization.” In order to be considered as a charitable organization, an NCO must meet the requirements set by the Law. In particular, the Law sets specific requirements for the charter of charitable organizations and states that the supreme governing body of a charitable organization must be its guardian council (board of trustees). This is not compatible with any existing form of NCO, whose governing body is either a general meeting of members (for public associations and associations of legal entities) or a general meeting of founders or one founder (for foundations and institutions). Therefore, none of the existing NCOs would qualify as a charitable organization in accordance with this Law until they make appropriate changes in their structure and founding documents.

The new amendments to the Law on Charity, adopted on July 4, 2022, added new reporting requirements for charity organizations. On at least an annual basis, charitable organizations must publish a report on their completed charitable programs in the media and (or) on the internet resource of a charitable organization. The report must contain brief information on income and expenses, as well as goals achieved within the framework of the charitable program.

Moreover, the Law established additional reporting requirements for charitable organizations to receive foreign funding. For example, they must annually publish a report in the mass media on the usage of funds received from international organizations, foreigners, and stateless persons for the purpose of charity. The Law also established a reporting requirement for the branches and representative offices of foreign charitable organizations, which must annually publish an activity report in the mass media, including the information on founders (participants), the structure of property, sources of income, and direction of spending the money in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Tax Code contains a definition of “charitable aid” and provides some benefits for donors and beneficiaries. Charitable aid is defined as property provided on a gratuitous basis:

• in the form of sponsorship aid;
• to individuals for the purpose of rendering social support;
• to an individual who has suffered as a result of an emergency situation;
• to noncommercial organizations for the purpose of implementing their charter objectives;
• to organizations engaged in the social sphere for the purpose of implementing activities, specified in paragraph 2 of Article 290 of the Code (see below); or
• to organizations engaged in the social sphere for the purpose of implementing activities, specified in paragraph 3 of Article 290 of the Code.

Article 289(2) of the Tax Code provides that NCOs are exempt from taxation of income received “under contract for the implementation of state social contracting, in the form of … grants, entry and membership fees, … charitable and sponsorship aid, gratuitously transferred property, subsidies, and donations.” An NCO must account for such income separately from taxable income.

The Tax Code also defines a specific category of organizations, so-called “Social Sphere Organizations” (SSOs), which can be formed either as commercial or noncommercial organizations.

There are two categories of SSOs (Article 290):

• Organizations (regardless of legal form) deriving no less than 90% of their gross annual income from providing services or conducting activities in enumerated fields, which are basically limited to healthcare, childcare and education, science, sports, culture, library services, and social welfare of children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities; and
• Public associations of disabled people and organizations, established by public associations of disabled people meeting the following criteria:
  – at least 51% of the employees of the organization must qualify as having a disability; and
  – wages paid to the employees with disabilities must comprise no less than 51% of the organization’s overall payroll (this number is further reduced to 35% for specialized organizations employing hearing-, speech-, or vision-impaired workers).

SSOs are broadly exempt under Article 290 from corporate tax on income received on a gratuitous basis, passive (investment) income (except when taxed at the source under other rules), and income earned from entrepreneurial activities, provided that the SSO’s entire income is used for the performance of exempt activities.

For donations made to NCOs (including but not limited to SSOs), corporate donors can deduct the cost of the donated money and other property up to 4% of their taxable income. There are no tax incentives for individual donors.

Barriers to Entry

The creation and operation of unregistered public associations is prohibited, and the members of illegal informal associations are subject to administrative and criminal liability.

At least 10 Kazakh citizens are required to form a public association.  Foreign citizens and stateless persons may not be founders of public associations, although they can be members of public associations (other than political parties) if this is specified in the charter of the association.  Citizens aged 16 or older may be members of youth public associations affiliated with political parties.  The age requirements for members of other youth and children’s public associations is specified by their charters or regulations (Article 11 of the PA Law).

All NCOs must be registered with the Ministry of Justice based on the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities and Record-Registration of Branches and Representative Offices. NCO applicants are required to pay a registration fee, which is determined by the Tax Code. Currently, the fee is the approximate equivalent of 50 USD. For associations of youth or people with disabilities, the registration fee is reduced to the approximate equivalent of 15 USD.

Registration of NCOs is relatively straightforward and usually takes about five working days.  To register a public association, an application must be submitted within two months from the date of its formation, which must be accompanied by the charter, the minutes of the founding meeting that adopted the charter, information about the organization’s founders, documents confirming the status and legal address of the organization, and proof of payment of the appropriate registration fee.  In case of refusal to register a public association, or any other organization, the registration body must provide a written rejection that explains the reason for refusal.

The PA Law (Article 7) categorizes public associations by territorial status as local, regional, and national public associations.  Regional public associations must have branches in at least 2 oblasts of Kazakhstan, and national public associations must have branches in at least 9 oblasts, including the cities of AAstana, Almaty and Shymkent.

Barriers to Operational Activity

As mentioned above, in accordance with Article 7 of the PA Law, public associations are categorized by territorial status. Though the Law does not explicitly restrict an organization’s activity to coincide with its territorial status, in practice, associations that do not so limit their activities are under threat of violating Article 489 of the Administrative Code, which penalizes any minor deviation from the charter objectives or any violation of Kazakh legislation. Since this Article’s sanctions are potentially serious (ranging from written notification to a 6-month suspension of activities), many public associations prefer to operate within the region where they are registered.

In addition, the Administrative Code, which came into effect on January 1, 2015, contains provisions that provide administrative penalties for leaders or members of a public association that carry out activities outside of the goals and tasks defined by its charter.

In December 2015, the government adopted a number of regulations, including the Rules for Providing Information by NCOs on their Activities and Formation of the NCO Database. The Rules imposed significant new information requirements on all NCOs, including the submission of sensitive data on employees. Due to successful advocacy efforts, the Rules were subsequently clarified and improved. . Since 2016, the Rules have been revised and simplified several times. Currently, the Rules are in effect as per the order of the Minister of Information and Social Development dated 21.09.2022 No. 402. In the first year of the Rules’ implementation, at least 1,800 reports were received before the deadline of March 31, 2006. While not all NCOs submitted the required data, those that did not comply were not penalized. In general, until 2017, no one faced administrative responsibility for failure to submit this reporting. However, after that period, NCOs were penalized, but the majority received only warnings, and some of them paid fines. From 2017 to 2019, 306 administrative cases were initiated against NCOs. As of 2023, for the reporting year 2022, 5,191 NCOs provided their data to the CSO database in a timely manner.

Barriers to Speech/Advocacy

There is no legal barrier limiting the ability of NCOs to engage in advocacy or public policy activities.  All forms of public associations may participate in advocacy and lobbying activities. According to Article 19 of the PA Law, public associations have the right to engage in the following activities in order to achieve their statutory goals, subject to compliance with applicable laws:

• disseminate information about their activities;
• represent and protect the rights and lawful interests of their members in courts and other state bodies;
• establish mass media outlets;
• hold meetings, protests, demonstrations, marches, and pickets;
• perform publishing activities;
• join international non-commercial non-governmental associations; and
• exercise other powers, not contrary to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

According to the Law on Elections, public associations can actively participate in organizing and conducting elections, as well as become observers of elections for compliance with the legislation.  Religious associations and international NGOs are expressly prohibited from using their assets to support political parties, movements, and campaigns.

Barriers to International Contact

There are no significant legal barriers to international communication and contact.

Barriers to Resources

• Foreign Funding

In 2016, the so-called “Law on Payments” introduced new requirements for organizations and individuals to report on the receipt and expenditure of foreign funds or assets. The new law also includes a requirement to label all publications produced with support from foreign funds as funded from foreign sources, as well as administrative penalties for non-compliance with these new requirements.

• Domestic Funding

An NCO may engage in entrepreneurial activities to the extent that it corresponds with its statutory goals.  Income from the entrepreneurial activities of NCOs may not be distributed among members or participants of NCOs (Article 33 of the NCO Law). Except in the case of SSOs, income from entrepreneurial activity is subject to taxation in the same manner as for a commercial organization.

Barriers to Assembly

In accordance with the Constitution, citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have the right to assemble peacefully and without weapons and to hold meetings, demonstrations, marches, and pickets. This right can be restricted in the interests of national security, public order, and protection of the health, rights, and freedoms of other people (Article 32 of the Constitution). Assemblies are regulated by the Law on the Procedure of Organization and Conducting Peaceful Assemblies in the Republic of Kazakhstan (the Law), which was adopted on May 25, 2020. Activities such as conducting demonstrations, movements, rallies, meetings, and pickets are viewed as a form of assembly covered by the Law. Spontaneous actions conducted without obtaining a permit from a local executive body are not permitted and must be terminated upon the local executive body’s demand. The Law proposes two procedures for organizing peaceful assemblies: 1) notification for pickets, rallies and meetings; and 2) coordination for demonstrations and movements.

Peaceful assemblies (except for pickets) can be organized only in “specialized” places identified by local representative bodies. Pickets can be conducted in any “non-forbidden” place; however, they can include only one person and cannot last more than two hours a day. In order to conduct a picket, rally, or meeting, a notification must be filed with the local authorities no later than five days prior to the scheduled date. To hold a demonstration or movement, the organizer must submit an application for coordination (permit) to the local authorities no later than 10 days prior to the scheduled date. Only citizens of Kazakhstan older than 18 years and local legal entities can organize and participate in peaceful assemblies. The application must include extensive list of information comprised of 13 items, including the goal, form, name of the organizer, specialized place for conducting the assembly, beginning and ending times, approximate number of participants, information on the establishment of structures, and source of funding. The local executive body must issue its decision within three days for notification and within seven days for coordination. In case of notification, the absence of an answer from local authorities within three days can be considered as consent for conducting an assembly. Local authorities have the right to refuse consent for an assembly or propose alternative place or route. The Law contains ten reasons for refusal, including several insignificant technical reasons, such as submission of incomplete or inaccurate information, and violation of terms for submission notification or application for coordination.

Overall, both the procedures of notification and coordination represent a pre-approval procedure for peaceful assemblies, as local authorities have the right to refuse authorization for assemblies or propose an alternative place or route for the assembly. In both cases, organizers must wait for response from local authorities before holding an assembly. Regardless of the terms “notification” or “coordination,” the law requires the de facto mandatory approval of all assemblies by the local authorities.

The Law states that “the right to freedom of peaceful assembly may not be restricted, with the exception of cases established by this Law in the interests of state security, public order, health, protection of the rights and freedoms of others” (Para 2, Article 2). It also states that “upon introduction of a state of emergency, martial law, or the legal regime of an anti-terrorist operation for the period of their operation, peaceful assemblies may be prohibited or limited in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘On the state of emergency,’ ‘On the state of war,’ and “‘On countering terrorism’” (Para 4, Article 2).

Assembly organizers have multiple responsibilities under the Law. Some of these are burdensome to implement and broadly defined, such as “require participants in peaceful assemblies to observe public order and the rules for their conduct, as well as to prevent violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan” or “create conditions for the safety of participants in peaceful assemblies during their conduct, ensure the safety of buildings, structures, small architectural forms, green spaces, as well as other property.” Organizers are also required to conduct the assembly in accordance with the aims specified in the application, within the specified periods, in the specified place, and to keep public order. Violations can lead to a fine of up to seventy times the monthly rated index or administrative arrest up to 25 days, for legal entities – up to 150 times the monthly rated index (Article 488 of the Code on Administrative Offenses) (~1,145 USD).

Public Participation

The Constitution states that “Citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have the right to participate in the management of state affairs directly and through their representatives, to apply personally, and also to send individual and collective appeals to state bodies and local self-government bodies” (Article 33).

Laws and legal measures relevant to public participation include but are not limited to the following:

• Environmental Code;
• Code on Public Health and the Health Care System;
• Law on Access to Information;
• Law on Procedure for Considering Applications of Individuals and Legal Entities;
• Law on Public Councils;
• Law on Public Services;
• Law on Protection of Consumer Rights;
• Law on Legal Acts;
• Law on Local Government and Self-Government;
• Presidential Decree on the Establishment of the Position of the Commissioner for Human Rights;
• Presidential Decree on the Establishment of the Institution of the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Order of the Minister of Justice #849 “On Approval of the Rules for Posting and Public Discussion of Draft Regulatory Legal Acts on the Internet Portal of Open Normative Legal Acts” (September 2021); and
• Regulations of the Senate and Mazhilis.

Some of the several institutions that promote public participation include public councils under state bodies; meetings of the local community; consultative and advisory bodies under the President and the Government; the National Coordination Council for Health Protection and its regional coordination councils; the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (“Atameken”); public monitoring commissions; and ombudsmen for human rights and children’s rights and business.

Examples of public participation mechanisms include public examination, public hearings, public monitoring of government bodies, citizen appeals, and access to information on the activities of state bodies.

Legislation governing public participation is available in open online sources and on websites of state bodies or registries of legal acts. The government routinely makes efforts to publicize online state services and online databases, thereby enhancing interactions between the state and its citizens. Civil society activists and other individuals actively engaged on issues of public concern are generally aware of relevant public participation mechanisms. For example, environmental organizations actively use the mechanisms provided for in the Environmental Code. The public councils expanded their authority in 2021, and they now participate in the work of public procurement commissions, consider reports on the activities of subordinate organizations of state bodies, and the heads of law enforcement agencies. Thirteen public councils were established in 2021 in the quasi-state sector entities (national holdings, companies in which the state is a participant/shareholder). Currently, there are 258 public councils operating in Kazakhstan, with 35 at the national level and 223 at the local level. These councils exercise public control within their scope of authority, and their members include nearly 4,000 professionals from various fields and industries.

While we aim to maintain information that is as current as possible, we realize that situations can rapidly change. If you are aware of any additional information or inaccuracies on this page, please keep us informed; write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org.

General News

Kazakhstan Deals with Bloggers: How They Will be Controlled (July 2023) (English)
The parliament of Kazakhstan passed the law to bind bloggers pay internet advertising taxes and to counter fake news. The authors of the draft law claim that the need for regulation of bloggers’ activity and online space arose a long time ago because of the active online scam, cyberbullying and illegal advertising.

What does the law on online platforms and online advertising say? (July 2023) (Russian)
The law on online platforms and online advertising has been published, which was signed by Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev the night before. The purpose of the law is to determine the legal basis for the functioning of online platforms, as well as the production, placement, distribution and storage of online advertising, and the prevention and suppression of illegal content.

The concept of “influencer” will be enshrined in the law of Kazakhstan (May 2023) (Russian)
Mazhilis deputy Aidos Sarym said that the concept of “influencer” will appear in Kazakh legislation. On the sidelines of the plenary meeting of the Mazhilis, Sarym spoke about the new bill on online platforms and online advertising, which deputies took up for work today. “We know that many active users receive money in envelopes. They use the Internet to create financial pyramids and engage in illegal charity. We would like, firstly, to outline all this. A huge number of new terms related to with this. And the second part concerns the activities of online platforms. Here we introduce the concept of “influencer,” the deputy said, answering questions from journalists.

How will the Constitution of Kazakhstan change after the adoption of amendments? (September 16, 2022) (Russian)
On September 16, 2022, the members of the parliament voted for amendments to the Constitution. The newspaper article summarizes the major amendments made to the Constitution.

The bill on public control was approved in the first reading in the Mazhilis (December 7, 2022) (Russian)
On September 7, 2022, at the plenary session chaired by the Speaker of the Mazhilis Yerlan Koshanov, the members of the parliament approved the draft law on public control in the first reading.

Filing of petitions in Kazakhstan will be regulated by law (December 7, 2022) (Russian)
At the plenary session of the Mazhilis of the Parliament, the MPs approved, in the first reading, the draft Law on Public Control and a package of related amendments that regulate the filing of petitions in Kazakhstan. The article contains comments of the Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Darkhan Kydyrali regarding these bills.

Issues of legal regulation of non-profit organizations were discussed by Kazakh and international NGOs (September 2021) (Russian)
On September 24, 2021, in Nur-Sultan, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative5 (ABA ROLI), together with the Ministry of Information and Social Development, organized a roundtable “Conceptual issues of legal regulation of non-profit organizations.” The roundtable discussed the consultative document of regulatory policy on improving non-profit organizations’ legislation. Currently, the draft law has been included in the Conceptual Plan of Legislative Work until 2026. The law is planned to be adopted in the first half of 2023.

Non-profit organizations legislation will be improved (June 2021) (Russian)
As part of the execution of the Presidential Decree “on further measures of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of human rights” and in order to increase the efficiency of interaction with NGOs, a Working Group will develop a concept of the draft law “on non-profit organizations.”

Kazakhstan will have a new law on volunteering and charity (March 2021) (Russian)
During the pandemic, the volunteer movement intensified in Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan developed the concept of the draft law “On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on volunteering, charity, state social order and grants for non-governmental organizations.” The bill is aimed at improving certain legislative acts of the republic and will lead to a more effective regulation of public relations in the field of volunteering, charity, state social order and grants for non-governmental organizations.

New Draft Law on Public Control Discussed in Almaty (January 2021) (Russian)
On January 23, 2021 Minister of MIPD Aida Balayeva met with CSOs in Almaty to discuss the draft Law on Public Control.

Kazakh human rights and media public organizations face unjustified and disproportionate fines and suspension of activities (January 2021)
The fines and suspension of the NGO activities contradict the priorities of the development of civil society announced by the state and damage international reputation of Kazakhstan. Echo and International Legal Initiative organizations have been fined 400 MCI (1,166,800 KZT) each and their activities have been suspended for 3 months. Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law was fined 800 MCI (2,333,600 KZT) with a suspension of activities for 3 months. Another organization Erkindik Qanaty was fined 100 MCI (277 800 KZT). Thus, the total amount of fines for only 4 non-governmental organizations amounted to almost 5 million tenge. In the near future, this amount for all organizations can reach tens of millions tenge.

Public control will be regulated by law – Balayeva (September 2020)
Minister of Information and Public Development of Kazakhstan, Aida Balayeva addressed the meeting of the Presidential youth candidate pool members. “For the effective implementation of the President’s state of the nation Address, the state and society must act together. The most important are the first steps: communicating the main aspects of the Address to the public and clearly planning measures for its fulfillment. In 10 days, a large number of meetings, round tables and conferences on the Address were held throughout the country. More than 5 000 articles were published in the media, “Aida Balayeva told the meeting.

President signs off on contentious rally law (May 2020)
The law arrived on President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s table last week following some light legislative ping-pong in the parliament and became statute after it was signed on May 25. Among the most trumpeted provisions of the new rules is one ostensibly requiring organizers of a rally to provide only advance warning of their intentions, rather than requesting permission.

Amendments on issues of AML/CFT were introduced to the Majilis (September 2019) (Russian)
Today in the Majilis, the Ministry of Finance presented to the deputies the draft law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Issues of Combating  Laundering of Criminally Obtained Incomes and the Financing of Terrorism. Vice-Minister Kanat Baedilov noted that Kazakhstan, like other countries, must combat the laundering of proceeds from crime, the financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Draft law on charity and donorship developed by the Ministry of Social Development (November 2018) (Russian)
The Ministry of Public Development on the instruction of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is developing a draft law on charity and donorship. This was announced by the Minister of Public Development Darkhan Kaletayev during the VIIIth Civil Forum of Kazakhstan, which is being held in Astana.

Ministry of Social Development established in Kazakhstan (June 2018)
Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Law on measures for the further enhancement of the public administration system of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the press service of Akorda reports. In paragraph 1 the line “The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan;” shall be reworded as follows: “The Ministry of Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan;”.

Government approves the draft of the new Tax Code (January 2018)
On December 25, 2017, Kazakhstan adopted a new Tax Code (the New Tax Code) and certain tax-related amendments to a number of laws (the Tax Amendments). Most provisions of the New Tax Code and the Tax Amendments took effect on January 1, 2018.

Government approves the draft of the new Tax Code (September 2017)
Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov reported that under the new Tax Code the thinking on taxation has been changed, which will be aimed at protecting good faith taxpayers, stimulating different sectors of the economy and simplifying administration processes. According to the new Code all uncertainties and inaccuracies will be interpreted in favor of taxpayers.

Kazakhstan develops new rules for issuing grants to NGOs (July 2017)
Within the framework of implementing the fourth direction “Identity and Unity” of the Plan of the Nation “100 concrete steps”, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society is working to improve the legislation regulating the activities of non-governmental organizations. In order to implement the 87 step, in 2016 a bill “On Amendments to Legislative Acts Regarding Activities of Non-Profit Organizations” was developed. It provides for the norms of mandatory participation of citizens in the formation and evaluation of state social orders.

Code of Ethics for Kazakhstan NGOs to be adopted soon (December 2016)
The Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan is working on creation of the Code of Ethics for non-governmental organizations (NGO), according to President of the Alliance Nurlan Yerimbetov who spoke in the press conference today, Kazinform” reports. “If we adopt it [the Code of Ethics], it will be a mandatory requirement for all NGO to comply with it. This document should consider all the aspects of our sphere. It should help avoid any provocative issues. We want everyone to learn how to behave in the right way”, – Nurlan Yerimbetov said.

Why Kazakhstan created the Ministry for Religious and Civil Society Affairs (November 2016)
It is an unfortunate reality that extremism and terrorism have become global threats affecting all corners of the world. There has been a fivefold increase in deaths from terrorism since September 11, 2001, with religious extremism overtaking national separatism as the main driver of attacks. It is why stamping out religious extremism has to be at the top of the global agenda. But the threat from this warped ideology has not stopped within Iraq’s and Syria’s borders. Countries as far flung and different as the United States, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Afghanistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Nigeria, along with many others, have been hit by radical Islamist extremists in the last year. Kazakhstan sadly also joined this list when extremists struck in Aktobe in June. It is for these reasons, as well as for the need to further develop our civil society as a key partner and ensure youth is properly included in our country’s progress, that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has established the Ministry for Religious and Civil Society Affairs.

Kazakhstan introduces tax control over foreign funding (August 2016)
From now on, NGOs that received foreign funding will have to provide complete tax reports. Otherwise they will have to pay an administrative fine. In general, nearly 14,500 non-governmental organizations are registered in the country. Some of them receive funds for legal protection, public opinion study, collection and distribution of information from abroad. This category is subject to mandatory requirement. All the information will be placed on the website of the State Revenue Committee is in open access.

CSO Database Formation (March 2016) (Russian)
During the execution of the “National Plan,” a hundred concrete steps for the implementation of the five institutional reforms have been featured in the legislation regulating the activities of non-governmental organizations in Kazakhstan. To enhance the transparency and accessibility of information to the public on the activities of non-governmental organizations, an NGO Database has begun to form in 2016, which will become a public information resource.

CSO Activists Petition against New Legislation (October 2015) (Russian)
A group of CSO activists expressed their significant concern over the implications of new CSO legislation adopted by Parliament in September 2015. Among their concerns include the potential monopolization of grant funding by a single non-commercial “Operator,” and the reduction of CSOs’ sphere of activity. The same group of CSOs signed a petition addressing President Nazarbayev, arguing that he should veto the legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

Opinion on the Draft Law on Access to Information (May 2015)
In April 2015, the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan requested the OSCE to provide legal expertise on the draft Law on Access to Information. OSCE/ODIHR has issued Opinions on previous drafts of this legislation in 2010 and in 2012. In its latest Opinion, ODIHR notes that the new draft law constitutes an improvement to earlier draft versions and incorporates a number of ODIHR’s previous recommendations. At the same time, there is a need to ensure that no information is categorically excluded from being accessed, and that at the same time, all necessary grounds for limitation of access to information are included.

UN Special Rapporteur urges Kazakhstan to boost right of peaceful assembly (January 2015)
Returning from an official visit to Kazakhstan, Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said that the Kazakh Government had developed a tendency to focus on restrictions rather than human rights themselves, adding that this had resulted in a situation where rights were treated as privileges to be granted at the discretion of State authorities. Among the more pressing rights issues facing the country, Mr. Kiai pointed out that the Government’s regulation of peaceful assemblies had become increasingly becoming problematic as all peaceful assemblies now required the go-ahead from local authorities and, even then, were limited to specific, government-designated sites.

“Kazakh CSOs Should Not be Sponsored by Foreign Donors” (September 2014) (Russian)
On September 16, 2014, the head of the organization called Civil Alliance, Mr. Nurlan Yerimbetov, proposed the adoption of new mechanisms for controlling CSO funding, including grants and awards. He emphasized the need to eliminate foreign funding to Kazakh CSOs.

CSOs Hold Press Conference on Draft Law (February 2014)

Religious institutions have to report for foreign money (November 2012)

Kazakhstan Elected Member of UN Human Rights Council (November 2012)