a part of the National Council of Public Trust initiative. These four laws included the following: “On the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, “On introducing amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan“, “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, and “On introducing amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Political Parties”. The new law on rallies greatly simplified the legal regulation of peaceful assemblies. According to the law, public spaces in the cities of the country can be used by citizens to hold peaceful assemblies. In addition, the notification procedure for peaceful assemblies are reduced from 15 days to 5. Historical situation The following chart shows Kazakhstan's ratings since 1991 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free". See also Sergei Duvanov Yevgeny Zhovtis Freedom of religion in Kazakhstan LGBT rights in Kazakhstan Notes 1.Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on. 2.As of January 1. References External links Human rights reports - IFEX 2004 Report on Human Rights in Kazakhstan. - US Government 2006 Report on Human Rights in Kazakhstan. - US Government - Freedom House Kazakhstan: Religious freedom survey, December 2005 - Forum 18 - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs News articles KAZAKHSTAN: No under-18s to attend worship or Sunday School (Forum 18) January 20, 2005 Kazakh Diplomat Praises Presidential Vote - (AP) New York Times 21 November 2005 Pro-Democracy Groups Are Harassed in Central Asia New York Times. Dec. 3, 2005. Opposition Party Excluded New York Times. Dec. 22, 2005. Concern over Kazakh religious row (bbc.co.uk) Dec. 11 KAZAKHSTAN: Expelled for "missionary activity without registration" (concerning a Presbyterian pastor) (Forum 18) November 15, 2006 KAZAKHSTAN: State bulldozes Hare Krishna commune, bids to chair OSCE (Forum 18) November 21, 2006 (Google Video) OSCE press release on destruction of Hare Krishna property November 27, 2006 International Herald Tribune December 7, 2006 International response to demolition of Hare Krishna property in Kazakhstan (Wiki-news article) Dec. 12, 2006 KAZAKHSTAN: "Economic war" to crush Baptists? (Forum 18) May 11, 2007 Two Years Later, Kazakh Journalist's Disappearance Remains A Mystery. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. March 30, 2009. Kazakhstan Politics of Kazakhstan Society of Kazakhstan