OSCE organizes seminar on community policing to counter violent extremism in Kazakhstan
A three-day training seminar on strengthening the collaboration between police and citizens in countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (VERLT), supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 30 November 2017.
The seminar, which was attended by 28 community police officers and instructors from Almaty, aimed to enhance the capacities of the local police service to address public safety through a more proactive engagement of local communities in preventing and countering threats stemming from violent extremism and radicalization.
Experts from Lithuania and Kazakhstan focused on increasing co‑ordination with local authorities, raising public awareness on community policing, and improving leadership and conflict resolution skills among community police officers. Special attention was paid to improving the co-operation between community police officers and potentially marginalized groups, including women, youth, and various ethnic, migrant and religious communities, in preventing VERLT, while protecting and respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The guidebook Preventing Terrorism and Countering VERLT: a Community-Based Approach, written by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), was distributed among the participants of the training seminar.
"I am convinced that this seminar will contribute to the development of the professional qualities of community police officers, which will help them to successfully fulfil their functional responsibilities in building a social partnership aimed at countering radicalization, extremism and terrorism," said Zhanat Dilbarkhanova, Deputy Head of the Almaty Academy under the Ministry of Interior named after M. Yesbulatov.
The Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan, Nicholas Brousseau said: “We are delighted to continue developing these partnerships by co-sponsoring this Community Policing Course on Countering Violent Extremism, which will offer practical knowledge based on fundamental principles. The promotion of diversity and inclusion, gender equality and human rights is at the very heart of Canada’s international policy. It is who we are as Canadians.”
Ambassador György Szabó, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, said: "It is the local police who can best identify and stop the illegal actions of those people who have embarked on the criminal path of violent extremism and terrorism. It is especially important to establish and strengthen effective co-operation with all strata of the community, including young people and various ethnic groups, in order to achieve mutual understanding in solving common problems.”
The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the Embassy of Canada in Kazakhstan. It is part of the Programme Office’s efforts to enhance security and promote community policing in the host country.