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Accepted Paper:
Access to information on Chinese investments in Kazakhstan: national and international law perspectives
Vadim Ni
(Ecoforum of NGOs of Kazakhstan)
Paper long abstract:
In 2014 the governments of Kazakhstan annd China signed a joint plan to relocate 51 facilities from China to Kazakhstan. Thereafter, Kazakhstan integrated this idea into the Nurly Zhol state program. This state program is valid until 2019 and the status of the plan on the relocation is very obscure for the public.
Many members of the public in Kazakhstan have expressed their interest to know the details of the plan of the Government to relocate the facilities from China to Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, the information even on types of planned facilities for the relocation was declared by the Government of Kazakhstan as confidential information. A number of requests were made by Ecoforum of NGOs of Kazakhstan and other members of the public to the Government of Kazakhstan to disclose this information.
Our requests were substantiated by the reason that this information is environmental information. Kazakhstan has an international obligation to disclose this information as a Party of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making Process and Access to Justice in Environmental Information (Aarhus Convention). Also the Government shall provide this information upon public requests in accordance with the national legislation.
The paper will update on efforts of Ecoforum of NGOs of Kazakhstan and other members of the public to get the information and why the Government of Kazakhstan shall provide public access to this information.