A recent interview in UN Today with Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhan, Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, caught my attention. Ambassador Kazykhan — a seasoned diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Foreign Minister, and Ambassador to the United States, among other roles — discusses Kazakhstan’s position amid global polarization. The interview touches on constitutional reform, multilateral cooperation, and the country’s commitment to interreligious dialogue. For someone who has spent the last 13 years working on religious freedom and social cohesion in Kazakhstan, it was a useful window into how the government frames these issues.
What interested me most was the emphasis on aligning domestic reform with international commitments. That alignment is not abstract to me. LYNC has been building it in practice since 2013 — starting with roundtables and cross-sectoral networking, formalized through a strategic MOU with the Government of Kazakhstan in 2021, and deepened through our partnership with Caspian University in 2023 to deliver the country’s first accredited CCRL certificate course for religious affairs officials. When Ambassador Kazykhan describes Kazakhstan as a bridge-builder committed to inclusive dialogue, I measure that claim against what we have seen change on the ground.
A “Middle Power” That Practices What It Preaches
In the interview, Mr. Kazykhan describes Kazakhstan as a “middle power” committed to pragmatic diplomacy and sustained political reform. President Tokayev has been developing this concept publicly since at least the Astana Think Tank Forum in October 2024, and articulated it further in his January 2025 interview with Ana Tili (Mother Tongue) newspaper, where he argued that middle powers can build new bridges between conflicting geopolitical poles. The framing is interesting, but what matters more is whether it translates into practice — not only on the international stage, but inside the country itself.
In the field of religious freedom and social cohesion, our experience suggests it does. A government that positions itself as a bridge-builder internationally creates space — and, with the right partnerships, incentive — to apply similar logic at home. That is what we observed when LYNC first introduced the concept of covenantal pluralism in Kazakhstan through a series of roundtables in 2019. The government was receptive — not because of international pressure, but because the approach addressed real problems they were grappling with: radicalization, corruption fueled by overly restrictive religious laws, and the alienation of peaceful religious communities. By 2021, Kazakhstan had signed a strategic MOU with LYNC at the first International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC — the first agreement of its kind between an American nonprofit and the Kazakh government. That was not an act of sentiment. It was a strategic decision by a government that recognized what actually works. The model that emerged — combining multi-faith, multi-sectoral relationship-building, Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy (CCRL) trainings, and structured government-civil society cooperation — is now being replicated in the South Caucasus and has potential for adoption across the post-Soviet and post-communist space. In that sense, Kazakhstan’s “middle power” strategy is not only a foreign policy posture. It is producing exportable frameworks inside and outside the country.
From Congress of Religions Halls to Community Halls
Ambassador Kazykhan discusses Kazakhstan’s Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which has been running for over twenty years and hosted its Eighth Congress in Astana in 2025. The resulting Astana Peace Declaration 2025 condemned extremism and the misuse of religion to justify violence, recognized the vital role of women and youth, and reaffirmed dialogue as the only sustainable path to peace. The Ninth Congress is planned for 2028.
These high-level declarations matter, but the real test is always what happens at the community level. And this is where I can speak from direct experience. Since 2019, LYNC has organized multi-faith and multi-sectoral roundtables, CCRL certificate courses, and retreats that bring together actors of diverse religious communities, government officials, and law enforcement from across Kazakhstan’s regions. The results have been tangible. Religious minority leaders in cities where Covenantal Pluralism was introduced report improved relations with the government and a greater degree of appreciation for their communities. Harassment of peaceful new religions such as the LDS Church, Krishna Society, and Scientology decreased, direct engagement increased, and a new dynamic took hold: government officials who once saw religious diversity as a security threat began to see cooperation as a tool for preventing radicalization and strengthening social cohesion.
This is what building religious freedom looks like when it is done relationally rather than confrontationally. Kazakhstan is adopting this approach quickly and substantively.
The New Constitution: Encouraging Steps and Open Questions
Ambassador Kazykhan describes Kazakhstan’s constitutional reform as a shift toward a more balanced, accountable, and human-centered state, with strengthened judicial independence, an autonomous Constitutional Court, and enhanced protections for the legal profession. On March 15, 2026, the new Constitution was approved by referendum, replacing the 1995 document. Kazykhan emphasizes the participatory character of the process — six months of public debate and a broad-based Constitutional Commission.
From a religious freedom perspective, the new text contains several encouraging provisions. The preamble enshrines interethnic and interconfessional harmony as a foundational principle. Article 7 explicitly affirms the separation of religion and state. The old (1995) requirement for foreign religious centers to coordinate the appointment of local religious leaders with the government has been removed. And the protection of clergy-penitent privilege has been preserved. As Alexei Kildishov, a lawyer and religious studies expert specializing in freedom of religion, notes in his independent analysis of the new Constitution’s religious provisions, the inclusion of interconfessional accord in the preamble underscores the importance of interreligious dialogue, mutual respect, and -cultural religious literacy as priorities for both state policy and civil society in the years ahead.
At the same time, Kildishov’s analysis identifies areas of ambiguity that deserve attention. Ratified international treaties no longer hold automatic priority over domestic legislation — a change that raises questions about the practical application of instruments like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 7, while affirming the separation of religion and state, also provides broad grounds for restricting religious activity, including “constitutional order” and “national security” — language that, as Kildishov points out, departs from the Siracusa Principles’ narrower formulation of “state security” and creates a risk of expansive interpretation. The explicit constitutional right to not disclose one’s religious affiliation, previously guaranteed, is absent from the new text. And the placement of sovereignty and independence before individual rights in Article 3 reflects what Kildishov characterizes as a state-centered logic that will require careful judicial balancing.
Why I Remain Hopeful
Constitutional texts are frameworks. Their real meaning emerges in implementing legislation, judicial practice, and administrative behavior. Kazakhstan now enters a critical period in which the spirit of its new Constitution will be tested. The criteria of necessity and proportionality in restricting religious freedom will matter enormously. But the trajectory is worth noting: a country that was once characterized by onerous registration requirements, police raids on religious communities, and criminal charges against peaceful believers has been moving — step by step, relationship by relationship — toward a model of multi-faith cooperation, cross-cultural religious literacy, and government-civil society partnership.
As Kildishov concludes in his analysis, the key will be the quality of the new legislation on religious activity, the rigor of judicial practice, and adherence to the principles of necessity and proportionality. Kazakhstan sits at the intersection of the OSCE and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, forming what he calls a mixed regulatory model. That is a complex position, but it is also an opportunity — one that Kazakhstan has shown it is willing to take seriously.
At LYNC, we believe that cross-cultural religious literacy is not a luxury — it is a necessity for any society navigating religious diversity. As Kildishov notes, a significant body of legislation is now set for revision, including the sphere of religious activity. The real test will lie in the content of new implementing legislation, the quality of law enforcement and judicial practice, and the observance of necessity and proportionality criteria when introducing restrictions. LYNC is committed to contributing to that process — alongside our Kazakh partners, on the ground, as we have for the past thirteen years.
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About the Author
Wade Kusack was born and raised in Belarus. He is bilingual in English & Russian, possessing extensive cross-sectoral networks throughout the former Soviet Union, especially in Central Asia. He organized or participated in more than 150 discussions and roundtables in connection with religious studies of the government as well as academic and civil society platforms. Wade has also developed educational networks for religious leaders on international and domestic religious laws and policies. His direct experience in peacemaking and reconciliation, in addition to leading interfaith dialogues, has inspired many stakeholders to found the non-profit, Love Your Neighbor Community (LYNC)
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