A/HRC/13/23/Add.1
that minorities are “guests” who should be grateful for their place in Kazakh society were
also reported.
40.
Some groups are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and negative stereotyping.
The Chechen community includes both citizens and a smaller group of war refugees who
arrived in the past decade. Between 30,000 to 49,000 Chechens are thought to live in
Kazakhstan, many illegally. Negative stereotyping, particularly during the Soviet era, of
Chechens as “enemy people” or involved in criminal or terrorist activity has allegedly made
it difficult for them to integrate according to some commentators. Chechens and Georgians
are allegedly subject to non-formal immigration procedures and disproportionate scrutiny
by police, who often practise racial profiling. The Government claims that all are treated
equally under the law and immigration procedures.
41.
The independent expert sought information about small minorities on the extreme
margins of society. The Roma and Luli (or Lyuli) are generally described as nomadic and
with livelihoods relying on informal trading, music, scavenging and begging. They may be
de-facto stateless persons and are not represented in the Assembly of the People or other
State institutions. Little information is available regarding their access to health care,
education, housing and the effects of poverty. Members of these minorities often lack
identification documents required to secure services; women and children may be
particularly vulnerable. According to the Government, in January 2008, there were 5,153
Roma in Kazakhstan, and measures were being introduced to prevent acts of discrimination
against them, while no complaints or representations from the Roma had been recorded.
Roma representatives registered the collective association Tsygan (gypsy), which works to
promote the culture and traditions of Roma people.
V.
Identity, language, culture and religion
A.
Identity, language and culture
42.
Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Constitution guarantees every person the right to speak
and learn their language, declaring: “the State shall promote conditions for the study and
development of the languages of the people of Kazakhstan”. Under Article 19, paragraph 2,
everyone has the right to use their native language and culture and to choose freely their
language of communication, education, instruction and creative activities. The Law on
Language of 1997 replicates and reinforces these constitutional provisions. In its report
submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,13 the Government
points out that the State programme on the use and development of languages for the period
2001–2010, confirmed by Presidential Decree No. 550 of 7 February 2001, was designed to
secure not only the revival and extension of the use of the Kazakh language but also the
preservation of the general culture and use of the Russian language and the development of
the languages of ethnic groups.
43.
Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Law on Education also establishes the right to
education in one’s native language. The Government highlights general secondary
education in pupils’ native languages or teaching native languages as subjects; however, it
also acknowledges difficulties in the organization of multicultural education arising from
the complicated mosaic of ethnic cultures. A total of 65 schools have Uzbek as the
language of instruction and 75 schools have mixed languages of instruction allowing
79,426 to be enrolled in Uzbek-language education. There are 14 Uighur and 50 mixed
language schools in the Almaty region, enabling 14,955 students to be enrolled in Uighurlanguage education. Two Tajik schools and 10 mixed language schools teach 3,503
students in Tajik in the South Kazakhstan region. Fifteen native languages are studied as
12
GE.10-10602