OSCE conducts Safer Communities in Kazakhstan Forum

The OSCE-supported “Safer Communities in Kazakhstan” Forum took place on 12 March 2021 in Nur-Sultan. The event focused on unifying the efforts of government bodies and NGOs in developing sustainable and safe communities in Kazakhstan.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Yerlan Turgumbayev, and Gyorgy Szabo, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan attended the Forum along with some fifty representatives of governmental institutions, NGOs and private sector companies, including speakers from Argentina, Canada, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.  

“We strive to involve society as much as possible in the reform process. We establish an ongoing dialogue with the police and other government agencies, and assist the public in becoming more responsible for their own safety”, said Gyorgy Szabo.

The results of a pilot project of the Office on service approaches in security policy, which was undertaken by the Akimat (local administration) of the Karaganda region and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, were presented. Within the framework of the pilot project, an interdepartmental group was created to address the issues of the designated community areas. The group included representatives of government agencies and the public. It built upon the United Kingdom experience of Crime and Riot Prevention Partnerships.

Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan presented results of the modernization of the police and outlined prospects for the future. The IT community of Kazakhstan made presentations on the possibilities of digitalization of processes to improve the state of security in the country, as well as the role of video cameras in the prevention of offenses.

International experts shared experiences of their countries in maintaining safe and comfortable conditions for its citizens, police reforms, and the establishment of a dialogue with the public. The village of Rodina in the Akmola region presented the positive achievements businesses created for a safe community. Civil activists and public figures of Kazakhstan got the opportunity to share their ideas and points of view. Similar Forums will be conducted twice a year.

The event was part of the OSCE Programme Office’s long-standing efforts to support the host country in police reform within the OSCE Project “Supporting Police Reform in Kazakhstan.”