A/HRC/14/10 allocates more than 50 per cent of its annual State budget to education, health and social welfare. Social and political changes have been enshrined in the Constitution, adopted through a nationwide referendum, which recognizes and guarantees human rights and freedoms. 9. Kazakhstan has 10 political parties and has enhanced civil society as represented by non-governmental organizations. There are more than 15,000 registered non-governmental organizations, and Kazakhstan annually commissions them to provide social services worth more than $13 million. There are more than 8,000 registered media outlets, representing a wide range of views, and more than 85 per cent of them are non-State entities. 10. The delegation noted that inter-ethnic and interfaith harmony is considered to be one of Kazakhstan’s greatest achievements, and that representatives of more than 140 ethnic groups and 45 religious denominations coexist peacefully in the country. The development of Kazakhstan’s model of multi-ethnic society has been promoted through the establishment of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. Newspapers and magazines are published in 11 languages, radio programmes are broadcast in 8 languages and television programmes are broadcast in 7 languages. 11. All people have the right to a fair and transparent judicial system. Kazakhstan has had a jury trial system for criminal cases since 2007, and it has established specialized courts such as administrative, economic, military and juvenile courts to improve the efficiency of judicial proceedings. Juvenile courts carry out their functions in Almaty and Astana, and they will soon be established in all regions. As a result of the recent changes made to legislation, only a court can authorize an arrest. 12. Kazakhstan has become party to most multilateral and international human rights treaties. Kazakhstan has imposed an indefinite moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and it is moving towards its full abolition. Kazakhstan has established an Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, which has extensive powers, as a central element of its institutional protection system. A Commission on Human Rights, under the President, works to support the head of State as a guarantor of rights and freedoms. With a view to the further enhancement of human rights protection mechanisms, the National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012 is in the process of being implemented. 13. With regard to the issue of torture, Kazakhstan is committed to a policy of zero tolerance of torture. While referring to the finding of the Special Rapporteur, Manfred Nowak, that torture in the country was “neither systematic nor widespread”, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed the assurance that the Government would not rest until all vestiges of torture had been fully and totally eliminated. Kazakhstan had adopted an action plan to eradicate torture. The country has drafted a law providing for the establishment of an independent national mechanism for the prevention of torture and, in December 2009, adopted a law providing for a generally more humane penal system and for greater privacy and security for convicts. Parliament is considering another draft bill that clarifies the grounds and the procedure for arrest and detention, and public surveillance will be permitted at pre-trial detention facilities in order to monitor detention conditions and the treatment of detainees. 14. In December 2009, the Supreme Court issued a normative decree setting forth a clear procedure for courts to follow when taking decisions with regard to the infringement of the rights of a suspect during an arrest. In particular, the Court has made clear that the time of arrest must be immediately and precisely recorded and that the decision to detain must be made within three hours after the arrest. The Court also set forth the grounds for criminal liability for those who have administered or instigated torture, and established a method for the assessment of evidence and the correct qualification of crimes in the event of an unlawful arrest. 4