On Ratification of the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia on the conditions of the Secretariat's stay in the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 26, 2007
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 19, 2025 No. 189-VIII SAM
To ratify the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia on the conditions of the Secretariat's stay in the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 26, 2007, signed in Astana on November 15, 2024.
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
K. TOKAEV
Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia on the Conditions of the Secretariat's Stay in the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 26, 2007
The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia, which are the Signatories to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia on the conditions of the Secretariat's stay in the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 26, 2007 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement),
Striving to improve the conditions of stay of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to properly perform its functions,
Guided by paragraph 3 of Article 7 of the Agreement, agreed on the following:
Article 1
1. The Parties have agreed to make the following changes to the Agreement:
1) Delete sub-paragraphs (f) and (g) of paragraph 2 of article 1;
2) Subparagraph (H) of paragraph 2 of article 1 shall be considered as a new subparagraph (f);
3) subparagraph (i) of paragraph 2 of article 1 should be considered a new subparagraph (g) and should be worded as follows:
"(g) "Secretary General" means the chief official of the Meeting;";
"4) Subparagraph (j) of paragraph 2 of Article 1 shall be considered a new subparagraph (H) and shall be worded as follows:
(h) "Members of the professional staff" - persons seconded to work in the Secretariat by Member States other than the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General;";
5) Paragraph 2 of Article 1 should be supplemented with a new subparagraph (i) in the following wording:
"(i) "members of the general/support staff" - persons employed by the Secretariat on a contractual basis from among the nationals of Member States, with the exception of those temporarily employed to provide certain services;";
6) Paragraph 2 of Article 1 should be supplemented with a new subparagraph (j) in the following wording:
"(j) "Members of the Secretariat staff" means the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, members of the professional staff and members of the general/support staff;";
7) Subparagraph (k) of paragraph 2 of Article 1 shall be worded as follows:
"(k) "family members" - family members (spouse, parents and children under the age of 18) permanently residing with a member of the Secretariat staff in the territory of the host country.";
8) the first paragraph of Article 2 should be worded as follows:
"The Secretariat has in the territory of the host country the legal capacity necessary for the performance of its functions, enjoys the rights of a legal entity and may, in particular,";
9) paragraph 4 of Article 2 shall be worded as follows:
"4. To open bank accounts and conduct financial transactions, establish funds and other financial mechanisms to carry out their activities, and create their own pension and social security systems for members of the Secretariat staff.";
10) Paragraph 6 of Article 2 shall be worded as follows:
"6. The rights provided for in this article shall be exercised on behalf of the Secretariat by the Secretary-General or, during his absence, by the Deputy Secretary-General or by a member of the staff of the Secretariat authorized by the Secretary-General.";
11) paragraph 1 of Article 3 shall be worded as follows:
"1. The property of the Secretariat, including premises and vehicles, as well as its archives and documents, including official correspondence, may under no circumstances be the subject of search, requisition, confiscation, seizure and enforcement actions.";
12) paragraph 3 of Article 3 shall be worded as follows:
"3. The Secretariat, its assets, funds, bank accounts, income and other property:
i. They are exempt from all direct taxes and fees, value added tax (VAT) (including in the form of refunds in accordance with the legislation of the host country) levied on the territory of the host country.
ii. They are exempt from customs duties, duties and charges, restrictions and prohibitions on the import and export of items for official use by the Secretariat. Items imported as an exception to the general rules will not be sold in the receiving country except on terms agreed with the Government.
iii. They are exempt from customs duties, duties and charges, restrictions and prohibitions on the import and export of their own printed products.";
13) paragraph 5 of Article 3 shall be worded as follows:
"5. The premises, property and assets of the Secretariat, including funds and bank accounts, shall enjoy immunity from any form of administrative or judicial interference, except in cases where the Committee of Senior Officials, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, decides to waive the immunity.";
14) paragraph 6 of Article 3 shall be worded as follows:
"6. Representatives of the relevant local authorities of the host country may not enter the premises of the Secretariat except with the consent and under conditions approved by the Secretary-General or in his absence by the Deputy Secretary-General or a member of the Secretariat staff authorized by the Secretary-General.";
15) paragraph 7 of Article 3 shall be worded as follows:
"7. Representatives of authorized government agencies of the host country may not enter the premises of the Secretariat except in circumstances of force majeure, and only with the consent of the Secretary-General or in the absence of the Deputy Secretary-General or a member of the staff of the Secretariat authorized by the Secretary-General.";
16) paragraph 1 of Article 5 shall be worded as follows:
"1. Authorized State bodies of the host country, at the request of the Secretary General or during his absence, the Deputy Secretary General or a member of the Secretariat staff authorized by the Secretary General, ensure the provision of public utilities required by the Secretariat on terms no less favorable than those provided by the host country to diplomatic missions of foreign States.";
17) the title of article 6 should be worded as follows:
"Privileges and immunities of members of the Secretariat staff";
18) Paragraph 1 of Article 6 shall be worded as follows:
"1. Members of the Secretariat staff must be independent and free from influence from any Member State and/or Government, organization or private individual. In this regard, they should not receive instructions from them.";
19) paragraph 2 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"2. The receiving Party undertakes to strictly respect the international character of the functions of members of the Secretariat staff, the status of diplomatic agent of the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, members of the professional staff and the status of international civil servants of members of the general/support staff, and not to influence them in the performance of their official duties.";
20) Paragraph 3 of Article 6 shall be worded as follows:
"3. Members of the Secretariat staff in the territory of the host country:
I. They are not subject to criminal, civil or administrative liability for what they have said or written and for all actions committed by them as members of the Secretariat staff in the performance of their official duties, with the exception of:
a. Claims for damages in connection with road traffic accidents caused by vehicles belonging to the Secretariat or members of the Secretariat staff, or vehicles driven by them.
b. Claims for damages in connection with death or bodily injury caused by actions on the part of members of the Secretariat staff, or vehicles driven by them.
ii. They are exempt from taxes on salaries and other remuneration, reimbursements, pension and social benefits that they receive from the Secretariat for their current or previous service in the Secretariat.
iii. They are exempt from state duties of the receiving party.
iv. They are exempt, together with their family members, from immigration restrictions and from registration as foreigners.
v. In the field of foreign exchange transactions, they enjoy the same privileges that are granted to diplomatic agents in the territory of the host country.
vi. They enjoy, together with family members, the same repatriation benefits that diplomatic agents enjoy during international crises.
vii. Upon initial arrival in the host country in connection with the occupation of a position and departure from the host country due to the termination of a mission or employment contract, they have the right to import /export property, including a vehicle intended for their personal use, in accordance with the legislation of the host country, without paying customs duties, taxes and fees, except for those who which are payments for specific types of services.
viii. Members of the Secretariat staff should not engage in professional or commercial activities for personal gain or the benefit of others, with the exception of scientific, intellectual or educational activities.";
21) paragraph 4 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"4. The provisions of subparagraphs v, vi and vii3 of paragraph 3 of this article do not apply to members of the Secretariat staff who are citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and subparagraph iii applies to them as follows: at the request of the Secretary General, to ensure the continuity of the main work of the Secretariat, the Government, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, grants temporary deferrals to those persons who are called up to serve state duties, and may approve full exemption from state duties due to official duties in the Secretariat.";
22) paragraph 5 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"5. In addition to the privileges and immunities provided for in paragraph 3 of this article, the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and members of the professional staff, as well as their family members, shall enjoy other privileges and immunities granted under international law to diplomatic agents and family members.";
23) Paragraph 6 of Article 6 shall be worded as follows:
"6. The vehicles of the Secretariat, including the official vehicles of members of the Secretariat staff, must be adequately insured by the Secretariat. The personal vehicles of members of the Secretariat staff and their family members must also be adequately insured by their owners.";
24) paragraph 7 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"7. Members of the Secretariat staff and family members shall enjoy the privileges and immunities provided for in this Agreement from the moment of their arrival in the territory of the host party on their way to their destination or, if they are already in that territory, from the moment when a member of the Secretariat staff has assumed his duties.";
25) paragraph 8 of Article 6 shall be worded as follows:
"8. Upon termination of the functions of a member of the Secretariat staff, his/her privileges and immunities, as well as those of family members, expire at the time of his/her departure from the host country or after 1 month after leaving his/her position.";
26) paragraph 9 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"9. In the event of the death of a member of the Secretariat staff, family members continue to enjoy the privileges and immunities granted to them until they leave the host country, but not more than 2 months from the date of death.";
27) paragraph 10 of Article 6 shall be worded as follows:
"10. Privileges and immunities are granted to members of the Secretariat staff not for the personal benefit of those individuals, but for the effective, independent performance of their official functions in the interests of the Meeting.";
28) paragraph 11 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"11. Waiver of immunity.
i. The right to waive immunity in respect of the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General belongs to the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States on the recommendation of the Committee of Senior Officials.
ii. The right to waive immunity in respect of members of the professional staff and members of the general/support staff of the Secretariat belongs to the Secretary-General with the consent of the Committee of Senior Officials.
iii. The waiver of immunity must be clearly expressed.";
29) paragraph 12 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"12. Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities provided for in this Agreement, members of the Secretariat staff and family members are required to respect the legislation of the host country. They are also obligated not to interfere in the internal affairs of the host country.";
30) paragraph 13 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"13. Members of the Secretariat staff have the right to:
i. To apply for visas on an expedited basis and free of charge if they have an invitation letter to take up a position or during business trips;
ii. In case it is necessary for the events of the Meeting and, if it complies with the provisions of the legislation of the host country, to move freely on its territory.";
31) paragraph 15 of Article 6 should be worded as follows:
"15. Accreditation cards.
i. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on behalf of its Government, issues appropriate accreditation cards to members of the Secretariat staff and their family members upon an official request from the Secretariat.
ii. At the request of an authorized Government official, the persons referred to in subparagraph i of this paragraph must present their accreditation cards.
iii. Upon the expiration of the term of office of members of the Secretariat staff or upon their transfer to other posts/positions, the Secretariat ensures the timely return of all relevant accreditation cards to the Government represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.";
32) add paragraph 4 to article 7 as follows:
"4. The Secretariat and the Government may conclude any additional agreements necessary.".
Article 2
1. This Protocol is temporarily applied from the date of signing to the extent that it does not contradict the national legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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