OSCE Centre facilitates training for prosecutors in countering drug trafficking in Kazakhstan
ASTANA, 21 April 2014 –A four-day OSCE-supported training seminar on prosecutorial oversight of the use of laws to combat drug abuse and drug trafficking began today in Astana.
The event was co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, the US Embassy and the Institute of the Prosecutor General’s Office. It aims to enhance law enforcement agencies’ capacity to combat drug trafficking and prosecute those charged with drug-related crimes. It brings together some 40 prosecutors from across the country as well as representatives of the National Security Committee, the Customs Control Committee and the Interior Ministry.
National and international experts from Georgia and the United States will share their countries’ experience regarding current challenges in countering drug trafficking and prosecuting relevant cases. The seminar will help Kazakhstan’s law enforcement officers to better understand how to effectively counter contemporary criminal drug trafficking tactics and strategies.
Event topics will include prosecutorial oversight of compliance with the law on the prevention of drug use among minors, prosecutorial supervision over the implementation of laws and normative legal acts on anti-drug authorities (including public health agencies, enterprises and other organizations), prosecutorial oversight of the law enforcement bodies’ actions during operative investigation activities, prosecutorial supervision over the observance of laws against drug abuse in detention centres and penal institutions as well as modalities of crimes committed by addicts.
“The OSCE promotes a comprehensive approach to security. Since the fight against drug trafficking affects all three dimensions of security – the politico-military, the economic and environmental as well as the human dimension, which specifically addresses the rule of law and democratic institutions –preventing and combating drug trafficking should also take an all-encompassing approach through close co-operation and interaction among all law enforcement agencies, both at the national and regional levels,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.
Deputy Prosecutor General Andrey Kravchenko emphasized the need for international collaboration in combating drug trafficking and cited today’s event as a great example of the type of training needed for specialists in law enforcement to help Kazakhstan effectively deal combat drug trafficking.
The training seminar is part of the OSCE Centre’s effort to combat transnational organized crime, most notably drug trafficking.