Kazakhstan Promises Openness

On June 22-23, an expert meeting “FOI Law Approval in Kazakhstan: Circumstances and Prospects” took place in Astana.

The event was held by Soros Foundation – Kazakhstan and the OSCE Center in Astana, together with the Commission for Human Rights under the President of Kazakhstan and the Ministry for Communications and Information of Kazakhstan.

Vladimir Golubev represented the IIFD at the event. Also, Ivan Pavlov, IIFD Board Chair, and Elena Golubeva, IIFD Director, designed guidelines on the Kazakhstan FOI Act approval, presented at the meeting.

Olga Volkova, MEDIALIFE Public Foundation President, expresses her opinion on the prospects of the FOI law in Kazakhstan:

- Up to now, we have no legal act regulating relations in the field of information access. When the concept of a bill titled “On Information and Proectaion fo Information” was adopted, officials realized that expert assistance was needed. This is what the meeting has been organized for. Our Foundation and its partner NGOs have been studying information access problems in our country in order to develop needed guidelines. The MEDIALIFE will take part in further development and discussion of the new law.

As for the Russian FOI Act, it came into force on January 1, 2010, but its practical understanding and observance by officials is still open.