OSCE organizes workshop in Kazakhstan on law enforcement agencies’ responses to COVID-19 pandemic

Law enforcement agencies’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and international best practices were the focus of an online OSCE workshop for Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, law enforcement officers and health authorities in Kazakhstan held on 18 March 2021.

The workshop was organized by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co‑operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, in recognition of how temporary restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries can affect human rights. These restrictions can, for example, limit fundamental human rights, such as freedom of movement and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

The workshop aimed to raise awareness among Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies about human rights standards and the applicability of community policing techniques within the context of COVID-19 restrictions.

Through lectures, discussions, practical exercises and scenarios, the workshop covered regulations and recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic and how the police encourage and enforce compliance, as well as an introduction to community policing and fundamental human rights and freedom of peaceful assembly, and law enforcement during the pandemic.

Some twenty participants learned about the importance of providing police with clear instructions on how to bolster public confidence and strictly avoid human rights violations while maintaining COVID-19 restrictions. They also learned that co-operation between the police and other sections of the community plays an important role in fostering understanding about the restrictions among residents, such as how long they will last, and possible penalties for non-compliance.