PRESS RELEASE OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMISSION ON ENSURING THE FULFILLMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

On April 6, 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 and sectoral departments and public associations.

In accordance with the agenda, the results of the work done by the Interdepartmental Commission for three months of 2024 were reviewed, and the tasks for implementing the “National Action Plan on Human Rights in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025”, “National Action Plan on Gender equality in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025”, “National Action Plan for the implementation of children’s rights in Turkmenistan for 2023-2028”.

Speakers at the meeting noted that, in order to make a worthy contribution to the implementation of the instructions given by the head of state at the expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on February 9 this year on establishing active, effective relations with the structural divisions of the United Nations and other international organizations in Turkmenistan, the Interdepartmental Commission carries out comprehensive work aimed at improving the implementation of our country’s international obligations.

Along with this, it was stated that the legislation of Turkmenistan is being consistently modernized, taking into account national experience and generally accepted norms of international law.

Based on this, as part of the discussion of the results of the work done during the reporting period, the speakers focused on the importance of the activities being carried out in the context of the implementation of the final recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the protection of the interests of citizens.

In order to strengthen the capacity of the Authorized Representative for Human Rights in Turkmenistan - the Ombudsman, the agenda also included issues related to the opening of new areas in the structure of the Ombudsman’s Office for the protection of the rights of children, women and entrepreneurs.

In consistently carried out work together with units of the United Nations and other authoritative international organizations, an important role is given to comprehensive measures aimed at effectively organizing labor relations in accordance with the realities of the time. In this regard, the possibilities of increasing cooperation with the International Labor Organization, joining international documents, as well as the draft “Road Map” of joint activities with the ILO for 2024-2025 were discussed.

As the speakers noted, in the modern era, special attention is paid to carrying out comprehensive work to create the necessary social and legal conditions for the implementation of the constitutional rights of citizens to work guaranteed by the labor legislation of Turkmenistan, achieving stable economic development, improving people’s well-being, and developing social partnership between workers and employers.

As was emphasized during the exchange of views, among the priority tasks of the Interdepartmental Commission, much attention is paid to the issues of increasing the legal knowledge of the population and expanding accessibility to legal information.

During the discussion of measures to fulfill the tasks defined in the Work Plan of the Interdepartmental Commission, it was noted that in order to study the best global practices in the field of human rights protection, conferences, working meetings and consultations with the participation of international experts are regularly held.

At the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission, a number of other issues were considered.