A/HRC/43/10 57. Legislation was being amended to strengthen punishments for serious crimes against persons, such as kidnapping and illegal imprisonment, and crimes related to drugs and trafficking in persons, and to decriminalize slander. 58. It was noted that abolition of the death penalty would require introducing amendments to the Constitution. 59. Freedom of expression was guaranteed by the Constitution, and everyone had the right to freely receive and disseminate information by any means not prohibited by law. The State guaranteed the protection of the honour, dignity, health, life and property of journalists. The legislation provided for criminal and administrative liability for obstructing the work of the media and journalists. 60. The Prosecutor General’s Office had been vested with the power to temporarily restrict access to Internet sites that promoted terrorism, extremism, suicide, the distribution of pornographic materials, or the sale of drugs or weapons. 61. The Criminal Code provided criminal liability for the use of violence in 21 crimes, with sentences up to life imprisonment. In accordance with the 2017 reform, any violent act, regardless of a complaint from the victim, should be reviewed and offenders were held liable. A law was being developed to strengthen penalties for domestic violence. 62. The Government had adopted an action plan to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for 2018–2020. Since 2016, 358 victims of trafficking in persons had been identified and 587 persons had been prosecuted for such crimes. 63. To simplify the process of legalizing migrant workers, 17 migration service centres had been opened, reducing the amount of time needed to obtain a work permit from seven days to two hours. 64. The parliament was considering amendments to ensure that newborn children of stateless persons were documented, which would provide them with access to a full package of social services. 65. Measures to strengthen the judicial system, including capacity-building and institutional modernization, were also highlighted. 66. The Concept of Civil Society Development until 2025 had been developed to strengthen civil society and to ensure its active involvement in decision-making. 67. The Government was developing a new law on peaceful assembly that would, inter alia, simplify the current procedures. 68. Citizens, foreigners and stateless persons could practise any religion without registration, and could also freely create religious associations. The requirements of the legislation on the registration of religious associations were in line with international standards and were applied transparently, as evidenced by the steady growth of religious associations. 69. Djibouti acknowledged progress in the normative and institutional framework, in particular the 2017 constitutional reform, and efforts towards sustainable development through the 2050 national development strategy. 70. The Dominican Republic welcomed steps to strengthen the judicial system through the adoption of legislation to modernize the system and to increase its autonomy. 71. Egypt welcomed legislative and administrative reforms increasing penalties for corruption, trafficking in persons and violence against children, and commended Kazakhstan for the judicial reforms to protect the rights of citizens. 72. Estonia commended Kazakhstan for amendments to legislation related to the operation of children’s organizations, but expressed concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression, in particular the Internet law criminalizing online activities. 73. Fiji commended Kazakhstan for the moratorium on the death penalty, and the development of the action plan for the period 2013–2020 and the Presidential Decree of 2014 to facilitate transition to a green economy. 6