Enhancing civil society’s role in law-making process focus of OSCE-supported seminar in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, 27 August 2015 – An OSCE-supported training seminar on enhancing civil society’s participation in the law-making process began today in Almaty.

The two-day event is co-organized in partnership with the Public Foundation for Parliamentary Development in Kazakhstan with the Parliament’s support and brought together some 30 representatives of non-governmental organizations and political parties as well as active and former parliamentarians.

It aims to equip civil society activists from across the country with the skills and knowledge on developing proposals to legal acts and preparing relevant documentation, including comparative tables and explanatory notes. Participants will also learn how to properly draft and submit requests to the Parliament and discuss the ways to improve communications between civil society and the legislature.

“A transparent and inclusive law-making process is a key driver for political, economic and social development and an important contribution to security and stability. Civil society organizations play a crucial role in conveying public opinion to elected officials,” said the Deputy Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, Mirco Guenther.

Aigul Solovyeva, a member of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower chamber of parliament, emphasized the importance of such a dialogue platform for building civil society’s capacity to constructively contribute to the law-making process by conveying public opinion on crucial          issues related to social, political and economic development of the country.

A practical guidebook developed and published with support of the Office for non-governmental organizations on the steps and methods of law-making activities, including the recommendations for parliamentary committees, working groups and parliamentary factions on effective forms of co-operation with the civil society in the law-making process, will be presented at the event.

The seminar is a follow-up to a series of OSCE-supported events aimed at enhancing the role of civil society in the law-making process.