[1] KIBHR was founded in 1993 by a group of Kazakhstani human rights activists, with the support of the American non-governmental organisation, the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews.
Its report on the 2019 presidential election found it to be irregular, and in July 2022, it joined 10 other international human rights organisations to call on the government to launch a fully independent investigation into the January Events.
[10] On 3 September 2009, KIBHR's director, Yevgeny Zhovtis, was sentenced to four years in prison by the Balkhash District Court in Almaty on charges of manslaughter after hitting a pedestrian with his car.
[11] Human rights organisations described his trial as "flawed" and accused the judge of ignoring evidence that suggested the incident had been an accident; Zhovtis was subsequently released from prison on 17 February 2014 after being granted amnesty.
[12][13] On 25 January 2021, KIBHR was among three human rights organisations that were placed under a three-month suspension by the State Revenue Office of Almaty after being accused of failing to properly disclose having received foreign donations.