New York, May 20, 2026 - The Republic of Kazakhstan, jointly with Brazil, China, France, Jordan, South Africa, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), continues to promote the Global Initiative to revitalize political commitment to International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

The Initiative, launched by the six countries in September 2024, is designed to give momentum to measures aimed at ensuring respect for, protection of, compliance with, and good-faith application of international humanitarian law. Its ultimate goals are to mitigate the consequences of armed conflicts, reduce civilian suffering, and preserve civilian infrastructure.

An important practical step in implementing this initiative was an official press stakeout held ahead of the annual UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians. During the event, the six initiating countries delivered a joint statement, which was joined by an additional 83 states (bringing the total support to 89 countries and the European Union delegation).

The joint statement expressed particular concern over the unacceptable realities faced by civilians in approximately 130 armed conflicts worldwide. The states called for making strict compliance with the rules of war a top priority, urged all UN member states to join this crucial initiative (which has already been officially endorsed by 111 states), and invited them to participate at the highest level in the upcoming concluding Conference on Humanity in War, to be held in Jordan on December 7 this year.

Later, during the Security Council Open Debate itself, the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan presented its vision of priority measures for protecting civilians and systematically addressing the root causes of conflicts. The international community showed particular interest in Kazakhstan's positive national experience in repatriating more than 750 women and children from conflict zones and successfully reintegrating them.

It is worth noting that against the backdrop of a catastrophic deterioration of the global humanitarian situation, the aforementioned Global Initiative—co-authored by Kazakhstan—has become a unifying factor for states with vastly different political vectors.

More detailed information about the initiative can be found here: https://www.icrc.org/en/global-initiative-international-humanitarian-law.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-kazakhstanun/press/news/details/1226993?lang=ru