[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

KAZAKHSTAN (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Kazakhstan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Kazakhstan remained on Tier 2. These efforts included elevating the status of its law enforcement unit dedicated to anti-trafficking efforts and increasing the number of its specialized anti-trafficking police officers. The government identified more trafficking victims. The President amended the Law on Migration and Law on Special Social Services, which entitled foreign victims to the same benefits as Kazakh citizens, including temporary residency with permission to work. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. It prosecuted and convicted significantly fewer traffickers, and civil society and government interlocutors reported legislative insufficiencies continued to hinder effective anti-trafficking enforcement and victim identification efforts. Authorities continued to identify few foreign victims and efforts to address forced labor remained inadequate.

Prioritized Recommendations

Significantly increase efforts to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, with an emphasis on forced labor and foreign victims, and refer victims for assistance.

Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including potential forced labor cases, especially in remote areas and cases involving foreign victims or allegedly complicit government officials, and convict traffickers and seek adequate penalties.

Ensure government-funded trafficking victim shelters have sufficient funding and resources for victim assistance and that foreign trafficking victims have access to benefits entitled by law, including temporary residency and work permits.

Amend Kazakhstan’s penal code to align the definition of trafficking with the international law definition.

Train law enforcement officers and labor inspectors to apply Kazakhstan’s trafficking laws, particularly in the detection of cases involving psychological coercion and other less overt trafficking indicators.

Strengthen the capacity of the Labor Inspectorate to identify forced labor victims, including by increased training on victim identification and procedures to report potential trafficking cases to the police, and allow unfettered access to factories, construction sites, and farms for unannounced inspections.

Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Ensure victims are aware of their right to seek compensation, and train attorneys and law enforcement officials on how to assist in that process.

Establish and implement a centralized anti-trafficking data collection system.

Enhance oversight and regulation of labor recruitment agencies.