A/HRC/43/46/Add.1 Organization, mainly focused on regional security issues, including terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism.1 8. The Global Terrorism Index ranks Kazakhstan in a lower risk category for terrorism (1.57),2 with an average of 1.21 risk between 2002 and 2017. Officials from the National Security Committee confirmed that, since 2016 Kazakhstan, had been at the lowest level of threat from terrorism according to its own assessment. 3 Kazakhstan has, according to its authorities, experienced distinct acts of terrorism (e.g. in Atyrau (2011) and Aktobe (2016)). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed 11 terrorist attacks that had been carried out in the previous seven years, and the National Security Committee referred to the prevention of 30 acts of terrorism, but little concrete information was provided beyond these statistics. Given the importance the Special Rapporteur attaches to the rights of victims of terrorism, she regrets that she was not provided with an opportunity to meet with victims to assess their experiences and the legal framework supporting them. 9. A number of citizens of Kazakhstan have joined terrorist and non-State armed groups in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq. Their return poses recognized security, management and rehabilitation challenges. The Special Rapporteur commends Kazakhstan for enabling the return of 516 persons, mostly women and children, from conflict sites in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq in January and May 2019. She affirms that this is both a positive implementation of its international obligations under Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), and a welcome humanitarian response to the plight of those detained in overcrowded camps in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic experiencing inhuman conditions. She affirms the willingness of the Government to close the impunity gap from the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq by prosecuting those individuals against whom there is sufficient evidence of criminal behaviour. She looks forward to a continued dialogue with the Government on the reintegration process and encourages Kazakhstan to provide a model of best practice in this regard. 10. Kazakhstan is a diverse multi-ethnic society with substantial human resources and capacity. Religious pluralism has been a hallmark of society, including long-standing tolerance for religious diversity, specifically for established religious communities, in a society that defines itself as staunchly secular and non-discriminatory (A/HRC/28/66/Add.1, para. 3). The Soviet-era legacy includes an executive stronghold over economic and political affairs and an important role played by the security sector in maintaining internal stability. This legacy often comes at the cost of stifling peaceful dissent, constructive criticism of government policy, and newly established religious groups, in violation of fundamental freedoms. 11. The Special Rapporteur’s visit coincided with a time of critical political transition. Demonstrations and widespread arrests took place as the visit commenced and further extensive protests occurred on 9 and 10 June in multiple cities with thousands of arrests and approximately 1,000 persons penalized through administrative court proceedings, 4 raising multiple concerns regarding due process. 5 The Special Rapporteur notes that these developments are emblematic of the key challenges identified during her visit. 1 2 3 4 5 4 See http://eng.sectsco.org. See https://tradingeconomics.com/kazakhstan/terrorism-index. The publicly shared national risk categorization scheme categorizes risk according to four categories: no rating, yellow, orange and red. Red represents the highest risk, while “no rating” indicates the lowest. See http://prokuror.gov.kz/eng/news/press-releases/representatives-general-prosecutors-office-andministry-internal-affairs. The Special Rapporteur is particularly dismayed that a foreign correspondent she met during her visit was arrested. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, “International Election Observation Mission, Republic of Kazakhstan – Early Presidential Election, 9 June 2019, Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions” (Vienna, 2019).