4.12 Programme Office in Nur-Sultan On 12 November, in partnership with the CSO Legal Media Centre and the Academy of Justice, the Office organized a seminar in Nur-Sultan on the protection of freedom of expression and judicial regulation of hate speech. The event was attended by 20 judges who were familiarized with international best practice in this area. Two international experts shared their knowledge and expertise on how the European Court of Human Rights deals with hate speech cases. In addition, the OSCE-supported publication Hate Speech in Kazakhstan: statistics, cases, and recommendations was disseminated among participants. The event was followed, on 13 November, by a lecture delivered by the Office on freedom of expression and hate speech for some 60 Master’s students in the Academy of Justice. Public Order and Crisis Management From 15 to 19 April, the Office organized a training course on strengthening the capacity of police crisis negotiators in Karaganda. The course was led by experts from the GPO’s Academy of the National Security Committee and Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies. Organized for 34 police officers, the course reviewed case studies on managing large crowds and hostage taking situations. From 16 to 20 September, in co-operation with the Israeli Embassy and support from the GPO’s Law Enforcement Academy, the Office organized a training seminar in NurSultan for state officials on negotiation processes and conflict management. The course was led by experts in the Israel Police, aimed at preparing participants from law enforcement, security and prosecutorial agencies in responding to crisis situations (such as hostage taking and managing negotiations). Other, including co-ordination and co-operation On 14 May, in a meeting with partners from the National Defence University in Nur-Sultan, the Deputy Head of Office exchanged information on current activities and discussed topics of mutual interest. On 15 May, the Deputy Head attended a meeting organized by the Delegation of the EU to Kazakhstan with the public association Dignity, briefing participants on the current trends in regard to human rights defenders’ security and protection in Kazakhstan during 2019. On May 29, the Office participated in the “Penitentiary Forum Prison Reform through Open Dialogue” organized by the MoIA in Nur-Sultan with the support of the Penal Reform International Office in Central Asia. The forum gathered 150 participants from parliament, GPO, the MoIA’s Penal Committee, representatives of Public Monitoring Commissions, National Preventive Mechanism for Preventing 122 Torture and Ill-treatment, and international organizations. Participants discussed the openness and transparency of the penitentiary system, including the level of respect for human rights in prisons, the improvement of detention conditions, and the measures that can be taken to reduce corruption in prison administrations. Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Criminal Investigations and Analysis On 6 and 7 March, the Office supported a high-level discussion on the current approaches used to increase the effectiveness of criminal justice policy in Almaty. The event was co-organized by the GPO, Constitutional Council and Supreme Court with support from the German Foundation for International Legal Co-operation. On this occasion, the Head of Office delivered a speech in front of 60 senior-level officials from governmental institutions, law enforcement agencies, judiciary, academia, Bar Association, civil society, as well as national and German legal experts. The participants discussed the modernization of criminal procedure system, the existing practice of pre-trial proceedings, as well as the challenges faced in ensuring the adversarial principle in criminal proceedings and new approaches to the competitive selection of judges. From 20 to 22 December, within the framework of a project on community policing, the Office organized a training seminar for newly elected members of inter-departmental WG on police reform in Borovoye. The group was organized with the support of the Akimat of the Karaganda region. In total, 16 prosecutors, probation officers, and labour and social protection workers gathered to discuss the implementation of a service-based approach in ensuring overall public security. Financial Investigations, Anti-Money Laundering and Seizures of Criminal Proceeds On 17 and 18 April, the Office supported two representatives from Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Committee and MoIA at a senior-level regional conference in Ashgabat on countering terrorist financing and organized crime, organized by TNTD, OCEEA and Centre in Ashgabat in co-operation with Turkmenistan’s MFA, MoF and MoEc. The event gathered around 200 representatives from around Central Asia, other participating States, Partners for Cooperation and experts from international organizations. The conference aimed to foster regional co-operation among the Central Asian states through discussions and exchange of