Key findings national baseline assessment on business and human rights in Kazakhstan 2023, 27 December 2024

In 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously approved the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The UNGPs have become the most authoritative normative framework setting global standards for responsible business behavior. 

The UN Human Rights Council has called on all Member States to develop National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (NAPs) to implement the UNGPs. In line with the UNGPs, NAPs should be based on international human rights standards and reflect the synergy and interlinkage of the State's obligations and the business responsibility to prevent, mitigate, and address adverse business-related human rights impacts.

A National Baseline Assessment on Business and Human Rights (NBA) is conducted prior to any decisions on the scope, content, and priorities of the NAP. This document presents the full findings of the NBA on business and human rights in Kazakhstan. The assessment aimed to analyze legal, political, economic, social, and cultural gaps in implementing the UNGPs, providing an overview of the negative impact of business on human rights to identify the most salient human rights issues in this context.

The purpose of the NBA of Kazakhstan was to assess the implementation of the UNGPs in the country, based on qualitative baseline data, to identify opportunities and barriers to the implementation of human rights by businesses, and to develop recommendations for the development of NAP in Kazakhstan.