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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000434 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE, G/TIP, SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI KCRM KTIP KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  NEW LEGAL INSTITUTE DIRECTOR LOOKS FORWARD TO 
CONTINUED TIP COOPERATION 
 
REF: ASTANA 0210 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On February 24, INL representatives met with 
General-Major Serik Yerkenov, the new director of the Ministry of 
Interior's Karaganda Legal Institute, to discuss his plans for the 
Study Center on Combating Illegal Migration and Trafficking in 
Persons and the implementation of the 2009 police training program. 
Yerkenov is clearly much more interested in working with the 
international community and the Kazakhstani inter-agency than his 
predecessor was.  He also appears to accept INL as a valuable 
partner in the development of his Institute and does not view the 
United States as an interloper in his affairs. Yerkenov's top goal 
is to prepare his cadets for the future and equip them to 
effectively deal with modern criminal issues.  Based on this first 
meeting with Yerkenov, we are very upbeat about the prospects for 
the TIP Center and for INL's cooperation with the Legal Institute. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
SUSTAINABILITY -- TRAINING TRAINERS 
 
¶3.  (SBU) General-Major Yerkenov was very positive about the TIP 
center and the implementation of training programs.  Yerkenov 
pointed out that when setting goals for the TIP Center, one cannot 
assume that donor assistance will be available forever.  He said he 
is already thinking about a future without donor support and thus 
wants to concentrate efforts on training trainers.  Yerkenov 
suggested creating a pool of designated trainers from within the 
Legal Institute who will receive specialized TIP training and be 
assigned to teach at the TIP Center.  Once trainers are identified, 
they would start receiving training through INL-funded programs 
in-country and abroad.  It was agreed that the first 
train-the-trainers course will be conducted in May at the TIP 
Center. 
 
INTRODUCING TIP MODULE TO LEGAL CURRICULA 
 
¶4. (SBU) Currently, law school students and cadets at law 
enforcement academies study TIP only as a subject within criminal 
law.  Educational standards and curricula are established by the 
Ministry of Education for law schools and by the Ministry of 
Interior for law enforcement academies.  Under existing standards, 
of the total 6,500 academic hours, only about 150 are allocated for 
criminal law.  Practicing professors estimate that trafficking in 
persons accounts for only two hours of study. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Yerkenov agrees that two hours is not enough to thoroughly 
study such a complicated subject as human trafficking.  He believes 
curricula must be revised to include expanded, separate study of 
human trafficking.  However, changing curricula is not an easy 
process.  It may require years of negotiations to push changes 
through the ministries, since there has to be adequate 
justification.  Yerkenov promised to do his best on this front and 
suggested that we work together in advocating for his idea. 
 
HIS OWN CADETS WILL STUDY TIP 
 
¶6. (SBU) Yerkenov also suggested introducing an additional training 
course on human trafficking for cadets at his Legal Institute. 
(NOTE:  An additional training course can be added to the approved 
curriculum by the director of an academy or institute without the 
approval of the MVD or Ministry of Education.  END NOTE.)  Yerkenov 
said he will rely on INL's expertise and assistance in developing 
the TIP course for the Legal Institute.  Once the course is 
developed, it can be presented to the pool of TIP trainers who will 
then teach the course to cadets. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT:  Such a course can be developed or borrowed from 
other countries and revised to meet Kazakhstani needs.  INL Moscow, 
through TRACCC (the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption 
Center), developed a human trafficking module for use at the MVD 
Academy in Stavropol, Russia.  This module has been reviewed by INL 
Astana and is an adequate model that could be easily revised for 
Kazakhstan.  INL will continue working with the appropriate 
ministries to advocate for curriculum changes that will affect all 
educational institutions and will do its best to create 
 
ASTANA 00000434  002 OF 002 
 
 
opportunities for all law school students and students of law 
enforcement agencies to study trafficking issues thoroughly.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
TIP CENTER DEVELOPMENT 
 
¶8. (SBU) Yerkenov also requested further INL assistance in the 
technical development of the TIP Center, including the establishment 
of a computer/internet class and language laboratory.  INL is 
working with UNODC Moscow to receive computer-based training 
programs to be used as additional training and exam tools in a 
computer class.  The language laboratory will be used by professors 
and students to study English and allow them to attend foreign law 
enforcement academies.  Additionally, Yerkenov hopes to create an 
anti-TIP library at the TIP center.  He is interested in collecting 
training materials, books, and manuals, including those in English. 
 
 
HIGH HOPES FOR COOPERATION 
 
¶9. (SBU) In the long run, Yerkenov envisions the TIP Center becoming 
an international training center for Central Asia.  This is not a 
new idea, but Yerkenov appeared much more enthusiastic about such an 
idea than his predecessor was.   Yerkenov also believes that the TIP 
Center will be far more valuable if training is offered to all 
agencies, not just the MVD, since cooperation among government 
agencies plays an important role in the effective investigation of 
transnational crime. 
 
LEGAL STATUS OF TIP CENTER, DORMITORY 
 
¶10. (SBU) Yerkenov also raised the issue of the legal status of the 
TIP center and its dormitory.  Having reviewed internal documents, 
he discovered that the legal status of the TIP Center is still 
"undefined."  The dormitory, though on the campus of the Legal 
Institute, does not formally belong to the MVD because necessary 
paperwork had not been completed.  As a result, it is not receiving 
funding from the MVD.  Formally, the building belongs to the local 
Akimat (government administration), but maintenance costs are being 
paid from the Legal Institute's budget.  Yerkenov said this is an 
internal problem and promised to fix it to ensure the dormitory 
receives support from the MVD. 
 
A CUP OF TEA WITH THE DIRECTOR 
 
¶11.  (SBU) After the meeting, Yerkenov invited INL representatives 
to have tea with him, during which time he talked in more depth 
about his background and the reasons for his support of interagency 
and international cooperation.  In 1999, he defended his doctoral 
dissertation at the Moscow MVD Academy.  The subject of his paper 
was cooperation among law enforcement agencies in CIS countries in 
the detection and investigation of transnational crimes.  Yerkenov 
was required to receive approval from each CIS country regarding the 
methods he proposed in the paper.  Each country had to determine 
whether his proposed methods would be acceptable and practical. 
During this process, he was in contact with senior police officials 
throughout the CIS.  His methodology was accepted by all countries, 
except for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 
 
¶12. (SBU) COMMENT:  Yerkenov is clearly much more interested in 
working with the international community and the Kazakhstani 
inter-agency than his predecessor.  He also appears to accept INL as 
a valuable partner in the development of his Institute and does not 
view the United States as an interloper in his affairs.  He exudes 
an aura of thoughtful intelligence and comes across as an academic 
working to better his institute rather than a long-serving police 
officer spending his last few years relaxing in a cushy executive 
suite.  Yerkenov's top goal is to prepare his cadets for the future 
and equip them to effectively deal with modern criminal issues. 
Based on this first meeting with Yerkenov, we are very upbeat about 
the prospects for the TIP Center and for INL's cooperation with the 
Legal Institute. END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND