Askar Shakirov (Kazakhstan) was appointed the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Sustainable Development Goals in August 2021. Tasked with promoting the Assembly’s engagement on issues related to achieving the UN’s SDGs and Agenda 2030, Shakirov reports to the President and the Standing Committee.

Shakirov was elected OSCE PA Vice-President in July 2021 and also serves as Deputy Head of the Delegation of Kazakhstan to the OSCE PA.

In the Senate, Shakirov chairs the Committee on International Relations, Defense and Security. From September 2019 to January 2023, he served as Deputy Chair of the Senate of Kazakhstan.

He was previously Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of India (1998-2004), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-2006) and Human Rights Commissioner (2007-2019).

As Special Representative on Sustainable Development Goals, his mandate is the following:

MANDATE

• Raise awareness in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly about the urgency of implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
• Working in close co-ordination with the OSCE PA Second Committee promote co-operation and facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue with the view to share experience and knowledge on SDG implementation as well as identify priorities in advancing the SDGs;
• Mobilize parliamentary delegations to ensure accountability in their national parliaments through monitoring and reporting in the SDGs;
• Communicate with relevant actors within the OSCE, as well as with other national and international stakeholders in order to promote the Assembly’s engagement on issues related to achieving SDGs;
• Report to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on the track records of the OSCE participating States in the implementation of the SDGs.