Press release of the regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on ensuring the fulfillment of international human rights obligations and international humanitarian law

On January 27, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan hosted a regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission to ensure the implementation of Turkmenistan’s international obligations in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law, which was attended by representatives of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, a number of ministries, departments and public organizations of the country.

The agenda included a discussion of the results of the work carried out by the Interdepartmental Commission for 2023 and the tasks in 2024.

The meeting participants discussed priority areas for upcoming work to further improve the activities of government bodies and public associations in the field of ensuring human rights and implementing the norms of international humanitarian law. It was noted that the legislative system of Turkmenistan is consistently developing, based on national experience and traditions, as well as with the goal of harmonization with generally recognized international standards.

In the process of discussing the results of the work carried out during the reporting period, the speakers noted that the protection of the legitimate interests of citizens in accordance with international law is a priority vector of the state policy of Turkmenistan. A clear confirmation of this is the “National Action Plan for Human Rights in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025”, “National Action Plan of Turkmenistan for Gender Equality for 2021-2025”, “National Action Plan for the Realization of Children’s Rights”, which are being implemented on a systematic basis. for 2023-2028." Another example is programs and projects implemented jointly with UN structures and other international organizations, within the framework of which concrete results have been achieved.

During the meeting, the Work Plan of this structure for 2024 was reviewed and priority tasks for the practical implementation of the planned activities were identified. The “Plan of Actions for 2024 – 2028 for the implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Turkmenistan” was also discussed.

As is known, the Program of the President of Turkmenistan for the socio-economic development of the country for 2022-2028 identifies priority areas for strengthening the role of human capital as the main factor in ensuring human rights and the development of civil society. In this context, at the meeting attention was paid to the issue of strengthening the capacity of the Authorized Representative for Human Rights in Turkmenistan - the Ombudsman, in particular, issues were discussed about opening new areas for protecting the rights of children, women and entrepreneurs in the structure of the Ombudsman.

During the meeting, it was noted that improving the activities of government bodies to ensure the implementation of human rights, introducing digital technologies in all sectors of the economy and social sphere, creating new jobs, stimulating the development of small and medium-sized businesses, expanding employment in the private sector opens up new opportunities for the implementation of intellectual potential of the population. In accordance with the Law “On State Youth Policy,” special importance is attached to popularizing a healthy lifestyle among young people, educating them in the spirit of patriotism, hard work, high morality and civic responsibility.

The interdepartmental commission is preparing proposals for harmonizing national legislation with international law. In this regard, a set of measures taken during the reporting period was aimed at solving priority tasks to improve the legal system and the practical implementation of Turkmenistan’s international obligations in the field of human rights and freedoms.

The main tasks of the Interdepartmental Commission also include ensuring the preparation of National Reports and submitting them to the UN Committees. As was stated in the speeches, during the reporting period proposals were prepared for National Reports on the implementation of a number of conventions and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, the emphasis was placed on the achievements of Turkmenistan in the field of human rights and humanitarian law.

As part of the exchange of views, it was emphasized that, in accordance with priority tasks, the Interdepartmental Commission paid great attention to the issues of increasing the legal knowledge of the population and expanding access to legal information.

When discussing further steps to fulfill the tasks defined in the Commission’s Work Plan, it was noted that in order to study the best world experience in the field of human rights protection, a series of seminars, working meetings, and consultations with the participation of international experts is envisaged.

A number of other issues were also discussed at the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission.