On November 6, 2020, the Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies hosted an online session of the Criminological Forum dedicated to the memory of the prominent statesman Utegen Seitov.
Members of the Parliament, members of the Constitutional Council, the Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of the Presidential Administration, UNODC for Central Asia, the Supreme Court, law enforcement and special agencies, the scientific community, as well as foreign experts from Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus took part in the discussion of the agenda.
Welcoming remarks were made by the UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia Ashita Mittal, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan Marat Akhmetzhanov and Deputy Executive Director of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation Igor Rogov, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova, Ambassador, Head of the OSCE Program Office in Nur-Sultan Djerd Sabo.
During the meeting, the results of four interdepartmental scientific studies of the Academy conducted in 2020 were discussed:
1) public confidence as an indicator of the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies;
2) increase of guarantees of protection of citizens ‘ rights in criminal proceedings;
3) torture: problematic issues of criminal law and procedural regulation in penitentiary institutions;
4) current problems of assessing the level of drug use.
The topics were approved by the Scientific and Methodological Council of Law Enforcement Agencies of Kazakhstan.
Rector of the Academy Yergali Merzadinov briefly discussed the features of the research and its results.
So, the purpose of the first study is to understand the reasons for the low level of trust of citizens through the eyes of the employees themselves.
For this purpose, the author’s team conducted an online survey of more than four thousand law enforcement officers at all levels, interviewed more than 24 thousand citizens, both in large metropolitan areas and in rural districts.
Based on the results of the study, the authors’ team proposed a number of specific measures of a normative and practical nature.
As part of the second study, a systematic analysis of criminal statistics for the past five years was carried out, and the data of the ERDR on more than 260 thousand criminal cases were studied.
In general, the authors’ team came to the conclusion that the national legislation complies with the basic international principles of criminal procedure.
But there are issues that require further improvement.
For example, in accordance with the Resolution of the UN General Assembly of December 9, 1988, it was proposed to introduce into national legislation certain rules concerning the detention of nursing mothers, pregnant women and other vulnerable categories of citizens.
Scientists have prepared a large package of proposals aimed at improving the guarantees of citizens’ rights in criminal proceedings.
Much work has been done in the analysis of the problem of torture in detention facilities, initiated by the inter-Ministerial working group for implementation of the policy documents on the development of the penitentiary system of the attorney General.
The relevance of the study lies in the need to take measures to prevent ill-treatment of convicts who are isolated from society, completely dependent on the administration of institutions and limited in the methods of legal protection.
The authors studied criminal cases of torture, judicial acts in the “Torelik” system, and more than a thousand appeals to the Commissioner for Human Rights.
An expert survey of 700 employees of the CUIS, special prosecutors and 60 members of the NPM, as well as about 600 convicts, was organized.
Based on the results of the study, proposals aimed at countering torture were developed.
In particular, in order to implement the provisions of the UN Convention against Torture, it is proposed to bring national legislation into line with international standards.
Methodological recommendations on the pre-trial investigation of torture committed in the penitentiary system have also been prepared.
As noted by the authors of the study on the problems of assessing the level of drug use, in Kazakhstan there is no single document defining the strategy and action plan of the state in this area.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, the consumption of new psychoactive substances has increased significantly in Kazakhstan, and there is an increase in the use of synthetic drugs.
For the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the subjects of countering drug use, non-state domestic and international organizations and their interaction allowed us to develop organizational and legislative proposals aimed at solving these problems and increasing the reliability of assessing the level of drug use.
During the discussions, a broad and interested discussion of the research results took place, new initiatives, positions and opinions were voiced.
After the plenary session, the discussion continued in the relevant sections.
Following the results of the forum, a collection of participants’ speeches and recommendations will be prepared.
