OSCE Centre trains police on public assembly management in Kazakhstan
ASTANA, 11 December 2014 - An OSCE-supported two-day training seminar for police officers on best practices in managing public assemblies began today in Astana.
Experts from the OSCE Transnational Threats Directorate/Strategic Police Matters Unit, Armenia and the United Kingdom will brief 22 mid- and high-level officers from administrative police departments from all of the country’s regions on the international standards and legal basis for managing public assemblies.
They will address the role of the police in maintaining public order and security during various events, pre-emptive strategies and de-escalation tactics for crowd management and the promoting co-operative interaction. They will also explore the regulations regarding the use of non-lethal weapons in the case of disturbances. Police practices in view of the upcoming EXPO-2017 international exhibition in Astana will be examined as well.
“The right to peaceful assembly is essential for democratic development and is guaranteed by the Constitution of Kazakhstan,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana. “The OSCE supports training police officers to enable them to manage public assemblies in a manner that is appropriately restrained, measured and proportional with minimum use of force in order to secure the safety of all people and their human rights.”
Kairat Mukhitov, Deputy Head of the Administrative Police Committee at the Interior Ministry said: “Police officers are to undergo special training and receive other professional support in order to be better equipped with the knowledge and skills to react with due regard to society’s sensitive attitude towards certain issues. To serve the public interest of building a successful democratic and multi-ethnic society the police should be able to contribute to strengthening social cohesion and reducing social tensions.”
The event, co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Interior Ministry with the financial support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, is part of the Centre’s efforts to enhance security, increase accountability and promote law enforcement personnel’s knowledge of best practices.