More than 25 participants discussed the applicability and the implementation of international legal documents ratified by Kazakhstan. The participants will receive information about international standards and OSCE commitments on freedom of the media and speech, and familiarize themselves with the complaint mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

"The application of international legal instruments plays a significant role in ensuring the judicial protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms," said Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana. "We hope that such training seminars will raise the media community’s awareness of their rights, and provide them with knowledge on existing international standards in the field."

The event, organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the North-Kazakhstan Legal Media Centre and the Open Society Institute, aims to popularize international legal instruments among the media community and legal experts. It follows similar events in Shymkent, Oskemen, Pavlodar and Uralsk.