OSCE Programme Office supports workshop to rehabilitate prisoners convicted of violent extremist crimes in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported workshop on facilitating the rehabilitation of prisoners convicted of violent extremism, including returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters, through risk assessments and effective classification measures concluded on 26 July 2019 in Nur-Sultan.

The three-day workshop gathered some 50 participants comprised of officials from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs Prison Committee and National Security Committee as well as representatives of academia and civil society. They learnt about methods and practices applied in penitentiary systems in the treatment of prisoners convicted of violent extremist crimes and exchanged ideas with local experts together with experts from Canada and Kyrgyzstan.

Presentations included key areas and methods of classification of prisoners convicted of violent extremism crimes, risks and needs assessments, as well as rehabilitation and probation for released prisoners. Participants also discussed the problems and lessons learnt in the development and application of a prisoner classification system.

The workshop was organized as part of a UN global initiative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) focused on preventing violent extremism in prisons.

The programme is co-funded by the European Union, the Government of the Netherlands and the UNOCT.

The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan support to this workshop was part of its long-term support to projects to counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism in the host country.