Tokayev Holds Discussion with Children's Rights Advocate to Evaluate Child Safeguarding Initiatives
Kazakh President Discusses Protecting Children's Rights with Commissioner
Astana, Kazakhstan - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Commissioner for Children's Rights Dinara Zakiyeva on May 23 to discuss ongoing efforts to safeguard children's rights and strengthen the national child protection system.
As reported by Akorda, during the meeting, Zakiyeva highlighted key initiatives implemented over the past two years, focusing on ensuring child safety, preventing violence, reducing the rate of suicide among children, and addressing juvenile delinquency. These efforts included the development of programs and legislative amendments aimed at improving the functioning of the child protection system. In total, the Commissioner for Children's Rights initiated 120 legislative amendments, according to Akorda.
Monitoring efforts this year extended to 13 regions and 73 settlements, including anonymous surveys in 272 institutions and visits to 173 families. These investigations showed 171 violations related to the implementation of child protection laws and system functioning.
Zakiyeva emphasized the effective role of 112 family support centers in preventing domestic violence and upholding children's rights. She also discussed ongoing efforts to establish dedicated child protection departments within regional administrations and the drafting of legislation to formalize their authority and functions.
Progress has also been noted in expanding access to rehabilitation and development services for children with special needs. To date, in conjunction with the Qazaqstan Halqyna Foundation and other partners, 49 rehabilitation centers have been launched.
The meeting also touched upon the preparation of the Children of Kazakhstan program, as well as measures to improve online safety and protect minors' personal data.
Enhancing online safety is an essential priority in Kazakhstan, given the escalating cyber threats and digital governance improvements. The government is taking technical and strategic measures to address cyber attacks and strengthen its legislative and institutional framework to protect citizens' data, including that of minors. While specific details about child data protection within the advanced digital governance platform, the Situational and Analytical Complex, are not publicly available, the initiative reflects a move towards more sophisticated monitoring and potentially stronger data protection capabilities.
1) The Kazakh government's focus on enhancing online safety for minors also includes drafting legislation to ensure personal data protection, which aligns with the broader context of improving health-and-wellness and education-and-self-development by reducing digital threats.
2) In addition to discussing ongoing child protection measures in Kazakhstan, the President and Commissioner for Children's Rights also touched upon important topics such as general-news issues like cybersecurity and digital governance, looking to science and politics to address escalating cyber threats and protect citizens' data, including that of minors.
