From ... in Political Propaganda — Feb 16, 2026

Kazakhstan: Draft Constitution Raises Rights Concerns

We have tagged this article as propaganda as it imposes a serious spin on the topic.
If not more explanation provided, this article is included as propaganda because it shows clear manufacture from a government controlled dialectic, where a topic is misdirected by some actors in order to mislead people during early stages of a narrative.

(Berlin) – The Kazakhstan Constitutional Commission’s proposed amendments to the country’s constitution would severely weaken checks on executive power and fundamental human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said today. Police have responded to public criticism of the changes by intimidating and arresting journalists, lawyers, and social media users.

The draft constitution will be put to a vote in a referendum hastily scheduled for March 15, 2026. “Genuine constitutional reform should strengthen rights protections and be shaped through an open and transparent process – not used to concentrate power or silence dissent,” said Mihra Rittmann, Central Asia adviser at Human Rights Watch. “Public discussion of amendments to the constitution should be inclusive and pluralistic, not policed.” The draft constitution, published for public discussion on January 31, proposes changes to approximately 80 percent of the current constitution. Authorities have portrayed the proposed changes as necessary to ensure “law and order” and modernize the country’s political framework. Officials have rejected concerns that the amended constitution would lead to violations of international human rights law. Yet several of the proposed provisions in the draft, if adopted, could enable excessive and undue restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Clauses allowing restrictions in the interests of public order and morality are vague, creating a risk of broad and arbitrary interpretation that could be used to silence critical voices.

The draft introduces constitutional restrictions on the financing of political parties and trade unions by foreign citizens and international organizations, among others, and omits mention of the fundamental right to strike. It would also enshrine in the constitution a requirement for nongovernmental organizations to publicly disclose information about any receipt of foreign funding.

The proposed amendments could be used to unjustifiably restrict legitimate civil society activity, stigmatize organizations receiving foreign support, and interfere with the right to freedom of association, Human Rights Watch said.

The draft defines marriage exclusively as a “union between a man and a woman,” cementing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, who already face stigma and harassment in Kazakhstan.

The government in December 2025 adopted a discriminatory law banning the so-called propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations,” violating the rights to freedom of expression and association that are protected under international human rights conventions to which Kazakhstan is party. The draft removes a reference to international law taking precedence over domestic law. It also undermines the independence of national human rights institutions by doing away with Senate approval of Kazakhstan’s Ombudsman, who is appointed by the president. In recent weeks, the authorities have responded aggressively to negative public commentary about the proposed amendments. In early February, an Almaty court fined a man 86,500 Kazakh tenge (US$170) for allegedly disseminating “false information” after he posted critical comments about the draft on Facebook. Police have also visited and questioned several journalists who posted critical commentary on social media, in some cases pressuring them to delete their posts. The police also warned at least two lawyers who commented publicly on the draft.

The news site KazTAG reported that several internet providers had blocked its website shortly after it had published an article highly critical of the constitutional amendments. A court in the capital, Astana, on February 4 ordered that Ermek Narymbay, an activist who is subject to restrictions barring him from engaging in social and political activities, be sent into pretrial detention after he took to social media to criticize the proposed amendments.

The same day, Almaty police also detained the activist Zharkyn Kurentaev for questioning prior to his participation in a news conference on the draft constitution. He was later released.

The government’s actions contribute to a climate of fear and self-censorship and undermine open public discussion and access to information on the proposed constitutional reforms, Human Rights Watch said. In an open appeal to Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, more than 60 civil society activists, human rights defenders, and legal experts expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the reform process.

They warned that rushed and opaque changes, vague provisions, and concentration of authority could weaken rights protections and further shrink civic space.

They called for inclusive public consultations, guarantees that there would be no reduction in human rights protection, and a transparent reform process, among other proposals. Kazakhstan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other core international human rights treaties, which guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and require that any restrictions on those rights be lawful, necessary, and proportionate. The government should revise draft amendments that could be used to unjustifiably restrict rights, ensure meaningful public participation in the reform process, and refer the draft constitution to the European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, for independent legal review. Kazakh authorities should also stop harassing journalists, activists, lawyers, and others and ensure that no one is penalized for peacefully expressing views critical of the ongoing constitutional reform process, Human Rights Watch said. “When police detain activists and question journalists for nothing more than expressing critical views, it shuts down public debate and makes clear that speaking out comes at a cost,” Rittmann said. “Authorities should stop such harassment and ensure a rights-based approach to the constitutional reforms underway.”.

Read the full article at the original website

References:

Search Results

Bookmarks

Kazakhstan: Draft Constitution Raises Rights Concerns

Search Results

Bookmarks

Subscribe to The Article Feed