PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT, KAZAKHSTAN, 2016-2020

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PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT, KAZAKHSTAN, 2016-2020
The United Nations system aims to further support the 
improvement and enforcement of employment rights 
for youth and the implementation of employment and 
skills development programmes, including vocational 
education and training (VET), to help disadvantaged 
young people gain decent work. It also aims to support 
alternatives to rural-urban migration by promoting 
attractive employment opportunities in the countryside. 
At policy level, UN technical experts can support 
Government staff in setting appropriate qualification 
standards and guidelines, as well as developing quality 
curricula and promoting diploma and qualification 
recognition. The UNCT will offer help in revising 
national migration legislation, to simplify the process 
of migrants receiving work permits; legislative reform 
will aim at integrating refugees, asylum seekers and 
stateless persons within the labour market. 
Special attention is to be given to Kazakhstan’s 
transition to a ‘green’ economy as a means to building 
a diversified economic structure, moving away from its 
reliance on the oil sector. In particular, focus will be given 
to developing ‘green’ economy-related knowledge and 
skills, as well as small and medium-sized enterprise 
development, and strengthened capacities for local 
administrators. Additional focus will be on introducing 
new opportunities: ecological tourism; special protected 
areas and ‘green’ procurement; and sustainable urban 
and transport development and waste management 
(see also Outcome 1.3). 
Strategic market information, value chain development, 
and strengthening of industrial enterprises’ export 
capacities (operating in selected pilot priority sectors) 
will be highlighted as a means of helping industrial 
sectors to diversify. Specific assistance will be given 
to modernizing national infrastructure and promoting 
high quality infrastructure. The UNCT will advise 
on how best to harmonize Kazakhstan’s industrial 
statistics with international and European standards, 
and how to promote investment. Cultural diversity will 
be supported as a driving force for dialogue, social 
cohesion and sustainable development. In addition, 
technical consultations will be provided, to ensure that 
occupational safety informs legislative reform regarding 
labour. 
The United Nations system will support the development 
of new, innovative partnership approaches, to increase 
the impact of technical co-operation and leverage 
resources from a range of development actors. This is 
based on the belief that the collective actions of multiple 
stakeholders are needed to pursue a transformation to 
a sustainable society and to finance comprehensive and 
complex development processes. 
To address the issues outlined in Section I, the United 
Nations system particularly offers its rich experience 
in such areas as enhancement of higher educational 
curricula and research in fields relating to innovation, 
technology and science. Capacity development for 
civil servants and business associations will support 
competitiveness, innovative policies and strengthened 
public-private partnerships. Moreover, based on joint 
programming in the Eastern Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda 
and Mangystau regions, the United Nations system 
can specifically support rural livelihoods, through 
capacity building of the unemployed (along with the 

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PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT, KAZAKHSTAN, 2016-2020
underemployed and self-employed) and enabling 
accessible financial instruments for small and medium-
sized enterprise development. All this is expected to 
benefit workers and job seekers newly entering the 
labour market, who will potentially gain access to 
better quality, market-driven, certified training and 
employment services.
United Nations agencies committed to supporting this 
Outcome include the ILO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNECE, 
UNEP, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISDR, UN Women, 
WHO, and IOM (as a partner organization). Among 
national partners, the akimats of selected regions will be 
responsible for implementing the national Employment 
Road Map 2020 programme. Meanwhile, the Ministry 
of Health and Social Development will coordinate an 
inter-ministerial national technical team. Other partners 
will include Parliament, the Ministry of Education 
and Science, and the Trade Unions Federation and 
Confederation of Employers (KRRK).
Outcome 1.3:
 Ecosystems and natural 
resources protected and sustainably used, 
and human settlements resilient to natural 
and manmade disasters and climate change
To address the issues outlined in Section I, the United 
Nations system will prioritize strengthening public 
resilience to environmental and disaster risks as well 
as to climate change. Focus will be given to improving 
agricultural techniques, ecosystem management, 
sustainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation. 
Numerous SDGs will be supported under this Outcome, 
including: Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms, everywhere); 
Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved 
nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 
5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women 
and girls); Goal 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable, 
sustainable and modern energy, for all); Goal 10 
(Reduce inequality within and between countries); Goal 
12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production 
patterns); Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate 
change and its impacts); Goal 15 (Protect, restore and 
promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, 
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt 
and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss); 
and Goal 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies 
for sustainable development, providing access to justice 
for all and building effective, inclusive and accountable 
institutions, at all levels). 
In particular, the UNCT will provide guidance on 
national alignment with international environmental 
obligations and Conventions, and reporting thereon. In 
supporting transition to a ‘green’ economy, the UNCT 
will aim to improve sustainable water management, 
promoting modernization of environmental governance 
and fostering a ‘green’ transition at local levels. It will 
help mobilize scientific resources, both national and 
international, to further support the sustainable use of 
natural resources and promote disaster mitigation.
Given the energy sector’s centrality to sustainable 
development efforts, from a social, economic and 
environmental standpoint, UNCT support will aim 
to help promote best practices and technologies for 
energy management and efficiency, including in 
industry. This will build upon the work of the United 
Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative, 
launched in 2012, as well as upon models from the 
United Nations’ large-scale programming on energy 
efficiency and renewable energy around the world. In 
particular, a national action plan is to be developed to 
achieve anticipated SDGs relating to energy.
The United Nations system is working to develop a 
more integrated approach to the link between poverty 
and the environment, strengthening resilience across 
rural communities and national, sub-national and 
local governments. In particular, the UNCT will provide 
assistance in developing and launching mechanisms to 
promote biodiversity and use of land in sustainable yet 
poverty-alleviating ways, to help rural communities. 
It will offer technical assistance to strengthen risk 
assessment, risk management and surveillance for 
chemical safety, linking natural and environmental 
protection with the protection of human health. 
Advocacy and coordination for effective Disaster Risk 
Reduction (DRR) will emphasize broader knowledge 
and understanding of structural and non-structural 
risks, and will ensure a multisectoral approach to 
disaster preparedness, emergency response and early 
recovery. 
United Nations agencies committed to support this 
Outcome include the UNDP, UNDPI, UNECE, UNEP, 
UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNOPS, WHO, and IOM 
(as a partner organization). Among national partners, 
akimats in selected regions will provide administrative 
support and guarantee access to information, while 
the Economic Ministry will provide access to national 
databases and help liaise with akimats. The Ministry 
of Agriculture will provide access to active farming 
communities, while the Ministry of Health and Social 
Protection will assist with data, and access to vulnerable 
communities in protected actioncommunities in urban 
and rural areas, and active private companies may help 
to pilot resilience-building schemes. National partners 
will provide support for integrating new approaches 
into national and regional Disaster Risk Reduction and 
emergency preparedness plans.