REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Mainly covers the period June 1998 to April 2001 as well as including some earlier information.

  • Population:1013
    – total: 14,957,800
    – under-18s: 5,197,300
  • Government armed forces:
    – active: 64,000
    – paramilitary: 34,500
  • Compulsory recruitment age: 18
  • Voluntary recruitment age: unknown
  • Voting age (government elections): 18
  • Child soldiers: unknown in government armed forces; possibly in armed opposition groups
  • CRC-OP-CAC: signed on 6 September 2000
  • Other treaties ratified: CRC; GC/API+II
  • It is not known whether there are under-18s in government armed forces as there is no information on the minimum voluntary recruitment age. There is potential child involvement in Uzbek Islamist armed movements reportedly operating from the south of the country.

CONTEXT

There is no armed conflict in Kazakhstan but there are repercussions from conflicts in neighbouring states. Kazakh troops are part of the CIS collective peacekeeping forces in Tajikistan.1014 Thousands of people fleeing the fighting in the Caucasus have taken refuge in Kazakhstan, which is also home to a sizeable Chechen diaspora.1015 An Uzbek Security Ministry official also claimed in January 2000 that members of the opposition Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were receiving training at a military base in the south of Kazakhstan, a claim denied by the Kazakh government.1016 There have been unconfirmed reports of shooting incidents and aerial attacks by Uzbek forces in the border region. In January 2001, the governments of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan agreed to cooperate against the Islamist opposition movements.1017

GOVERNMENT

National Recruitment Legislation and Practice

Conscription is enshrined in Article 36 of the 1995 Constitution which states: "1. Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a sacred duty and responsibility of every citizen. 2. Citizens of the Republic perform military service according to the regulation and the forms established by law."1018 Conscription is applicable to citizens between the ages of 18 and 27 according to the article 13.1 of the 1993 law "On Universal military obligations and military service". Call-up takes place twice a year in April-June and October-December. Military service is one year for those with higher education and two for those without.1019

It is also possible to undertake military service on a voluntary basis under article 18 of the 1993 law. No information is available on the age of voluntary recruitment.1020

A draft law on alternative (non-military) service was adopted in February 2000 and is expected to be implemented by 2005.1021 Reforms are underway to abolish conscription and create a volunteer professional army.1022 According to the Defence Minister "a draftee will be able to opt out of the service after paying a certain charge. However, he will undergo a brief military training "to learn how to handle arms and defend the Fatherland".1023

Draft evasion and desertion are widespread due to poor conditions and human rights violations within the armed forces.1024 Conscripts are allegedly subjected to brutal treatment to the extent that in 1998 the army launched a campaign to punish violators in a new anti-hazing policy.1025

Child Recruitment

One observer reported that there had not been under-18 recruitment in the Kazakh armed forces.1026 The government reports that there is no recorded information concerning the recruitment and participation of children in armed conflict.1027

Military Training and Military Schools

There are several military schools, including a high school in Aktyube for training air force pilots, a military academy, and a school for teenagers under construction in Borovoye, Akmola. In May 1999 President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced that more military schools would be established.1028 Zhas Ulan, another military school, was due to open on 1 September 1999. In an interview in July 1999, the Defence Minister declared that "a patriotic education should start at an early age, at school age. We have now started to fill this gap. As you know, at the initiative of the President and by his decision, a military school has been set up. It is 8th, 9th and 10th grade children."1029 In addition to special schools, military training carried out in regular schools alongside general education for 11 to 17-year-olds.1030

OPPOSITION

There is no official opposition in Kazakhstan. Islamist opposition groups from Uzbekistan are reported to have bases in southern Kazakhstan. These groups are believed to recruit boys for their activities in Uzbekistan and as such there is a potential risk of child involvement in cross-border activities (see Uzbekistan country entry).

DEVELOPMENTS

International Standards

The Kazakh government signed the CRC-OP-CAC on 6 September 2000.

1013 Government Figures.

1014 "Kazakh Defence Minister speaks on live interactive TV programme", BBC Monitoring Service, UK, 23/7/99; Report of the Secretary General on the Situation in Tajikistan, UN Doc. S/1999/514, 6/5/99.

1015 "Kazakhs play down Chechen transit route claim", CNN, 3/2/00.

1016 "Uzbek-Kazakh border tensions flare: Iranian radio", BBC Monitoring Service, 20/1/00.

1017 Economist, 27/1/01.

1018 Blaustein and Flanz op. cit.

1019 Letter to CSC from Nurlan Danenov, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Geneva, 8/3/01.

1020 Letter from Kazakh Permanent Mission. op. cit.

1021 Letter from Kazakh permanent mission op. cit.

1022 "Kazakh Defence Minister speaks on live interactive TV programme", BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, 23/7/99.

1023 "Kazakhstan to transfer to contract army in 2000", Interfax, 24/2/99.

1024 Horeman and Stolwijk op. cit.

1025 US State Department Human Rights Report 1998.

1026 Information received by CSC in March 2001 from a reliable source that requests confidentiality.

1027 Letter from Kazakh permanent mission op. cit.

1028 "President wants armed forces to be priority for Kazakhstan", Interfax, 7/5/99.

1029 "Kazakh Defence Minister speaks on live interactive TV programme. op. cit.

1030 Letter from Kazakh Permanent Mission op. cit.

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