ALMATY – Today, the marathon of trainings on “International and national Law on the protection of migrants in legal practice” for attorneys and lawyers of non-profit sector have ended. The project, funded by the European Union, is aimed at improving the access of migrants to national and international human rights protection instruments in Kazakhstan, as well as stimulating professional training and cooperation between specialized lawyers from Kazakhstan and Europe. Three two-day trainings took place from September 30 to October 5 in Nur-Sultan, Shymkent and Almaty. The training was devoted to the priority of international documents over national legislation, international and national standards on the expulsion and protection of the rights of migrants, as well as the economic, social and cultural rights of migrants.

Trainings were organized by the Legal Policy Research Center (LPRC) together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International Commission of Jurists – Europe (ICJ-E), with financial support from the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan as part of the project “Enhancing legal protection of migrants rights in Kazakhstan”.

During trainings, 100 attorneys and lawyers of non-governmental organizations from 10 regions of Kazakhstan were trained. The trainers were reputable national and international experts:

– Julia Zelvenska – Head of the Department of Legal Support and Litigation of the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE);

– Aina Shormanbaeva – Legal Expert at LPRC, President of the International Legal Initiative;

– Massimo Frigo – Senior Legal Advisor, International Commission of Jurists;

– Alexandros Konstantinou – Deputy Coordinator of the Legal Unit of the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)

– Sofia Bonatti – Senior Associate at the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).

The training participants noted the timeliness of the measures taken due to the active development of migration processes in Kazakhstan and Central Asia as a whole. The training program implied both theoretical and practical parts to strengthen the acquired knowledge and the formation of practical skills to protect migrants in the country. Training modules were prepared for participants with an overview of international law, cases and national legislation. The project organizers intend to further improve the training modules, based on the comments received and additions of the training participants.

Efforts to train representatives of the legal profession and the specifics of protecting the rights of migrants in Kazakhstan are part of a long-term program to form a pool of competent lawyers specializing in qualified legal assistance for migrants in Kazakhstan.

For more information please contact Olga Miroshnichenko, Project Coordinator of Legal Policy Research Center: Tel.: +7 727 356 03 86, +7 701 744 44 29, e-mail: omiroshnichenko@lprc.kz