At a regular meeting of the Constitutional Reform Commission, the Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dinara Zakiyeva, raised an initiative aimed at strengthening constitutional guarantees in terms of housing rights and protecting the interests of children.
"This morning, at an expanded meeting of the Government, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, paid special attention to the need to strengthen guarantees to protect citizens from unjustified eviction and deprivation of housing. The right to housing is not only a social guarantee, but also a fundamental condition for human security, especially when it comes to children," the speaker said.

In her speech, Dinara Zakieva noted that, in accordance with international standards, children have the right to the most favorable conditions for life, development, and protection of their rights.

"The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the physical, intellectual, spiritual, moral and social development. This includes safe and stable housing. Housing for a child is one of the key factors in protecting his or her well-being and interests," he said.

It was also noted that the risk of violation of citizens' rights is particularly evident in the sphere of housing relations. According to the speaker, the practice of law enforcement is evidence of this. Because the social risks associated with restricting citizens' rights are most clearly visible when issues of eviction arise in housing relations.
Dinara Zakiyeva said that during her work, she has repeatedly encountered situations where children were at risk of losing their only home due to various tragic domestic situations.
“Let me give an example of a situation where children lose their sole breadwinner - their mother. The mother had repaid a significant part of the mortgage loan taken out for housing during her lifetime. Nevertheless, if the previously paid funds are not returned, the children risk losing their only housing. As a result of our application, the bank decided to forgive the remaining debt. However, such cases, unfortunately, are not uncommon,” said the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights.
In this regard, it is necessary to establish guarantees that prevent situations in which the court disregards the most important and necessary interests of the child and deprives him of housing.
In this context, he noted that a specific constitutional norm is being proposed.

"In this regard, in addition to the state's obligation to create conditions for providing citizens with housing, we propose to establish a norm in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan that prohibits eviction from housing without a court decision," the speaker said.
In conclusion, he drew attention to the fact that the proposed norm defines the value orientations of a welfare state.
"The fact that the norm prohibiting eviction from a residential home without a court decision is reflected in the Constitution demonstrates the perfection of the social state and respect for human dignity," concluded Dinara Zakiyeva.