AKIPRESS.COM - An OSCE-supported three-day training seminar for law-enforcement officers on best practices and international standards in policing in multi-ethnic societies began today in Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

 The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), with financial support from the Swiss Embassy in Kazakhstan and the Convivenza International Centre for Minorities in Switzerland.

The OSCE Community Security Initiative and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek seconded experts to share experience from their work in Kyrgyzstan.

Some 20 senior-level police officers from across the country and local representatives from Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Prosecutor General’s Office will learn about the importance of police sensitivity to inter-ethnic relations as well as how to build capacity in dealing with inter-ethnic relations within police structures. International experts together with representatives of the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit and the office of the High Commissioner of National Minorities will present their expertise and knowledge on implementing multi-ethnic policing concepts, principles and practices as well as how to apply them in their daily work.

Topics will include diversity awareness, cultural and religious awareness, language issues, building trust and rapport and bridging cultural barriers with a community, as outlined in the HCNM Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies. Participants will learn from case studies and examples based on the experience of police in different countries and how diversity awareness should be incorporated into public assembly management. They will also engage in practical exercises to learn about conflict prevention and resolution.

Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana said: “Supporting public order in a multi-ethnic society requires special approaches focusing on preventing violence and unrest. In this connection, the necessary conditions for successful work of the police can be achieved through establishing dialogue and reaching a mutual understanding with the community, in particular with the respected members of ethnic groups acting as mediators between the police and participants of public assemblies.”

Jennifer Croft, Senior Advisor at the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities said: “The police play a crucial role in ensuring inter-ethnic stability and in protecting the rights of all a State’s residents. I am pleased at the commitment of the authorities in Kazakhstan to strengthen the skills of police in dealing with diversity; this is essential in any multi-ethnic society.”

In a speech delivered at the Institute, Salimgerei Karakushev, Head of the MIA Institute of Law noted: “The most important thing for the people of Kazakhstan is striving to live in accord, harmony and peace with all representatives of ethnic identities. I hope that this event will strengthen the relationships between police and different representatives of national minorities and still stimulate their co-operation.”