Kazakhstan hails cooperation with UNHCR on refugee protection
First Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev received Dumitru Lipcanu, Acting Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Central Asia, to mark the completion of his duties, Qazinform News Agency cites the Kazakh MFA's press service.
During the meeting in Astana on Thursday, the parties highlighted the active cooperation between Kazakhstan and UNHCR, emphasizing significant progress in improving national legislation and institutional capacity to safeguard the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in line with Kazakhstan’s international obligations.
UNHCR Acting Representative commended Kazakhstan’s efforts to enhance legislation governing statelessness procedures, ensuring the registration of children’s births and the issuance of birth certificates, regardless of the legal status of their parents, and the production of refugee certificates in accordance with international requirements and standards for machine-readable travel documents.
Concluding the meeting, Yerzhan Ashikbayev expressed gratitude to the UNHCR representative for his contribution to strengthening cooperation with Kazakhstan and presented him with a certificate of honor on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
In turn, Dumitru Lipcanu thanked the Kazakh side for constructive partnership, open dialogue, and consistent support for UNHCR initiatives. He especially highlighted Kazakhstan’s role as a responsible supporter of international efforts to protect the rights of refugees and stateless persons.
As Qazinform reported earlier, Kazakhstan and Moldova are strengthening inter-parliamentary collaboration.
