Dialogue on Human Rights Issues “European Union-Turkmenistan” was held in Brussels

On June 21, 2018 in Brussels, the next tenth round of the Dialogue on Human Rights "European Union - Turkmenistan" was held.

The delegation of the European Union was headed by B. Yaroshevich, Head of the Central Asian Countries Administration of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Turkmen delegation led by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan V. Khadjiev also included the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan as well as the representatives of the Ministries of Adalat (Justice), Internal Affairs, the Supreme Kazyyet (Court), the Turkmen National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, a wide range of topics was discussed, which included the issues of the rule of law and judicial reform, including the process of constitutional reform; governmental institutions for the protection of human rights, prisons, the development of civil society, freedom to participate in associations and freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of faith or religion, women's rights, the rights of the child, the rights of members of minority communities and a number of other issues of a humanitarian nature. Also, issues of cooperation within multilateral forums and with the international organizations, such as the UN, ICRC, OSCE, including EU cooperation projects in the field of human rights were discussed.

The European Union positively noted the work done in the country in the area of ​​constitutional reform, the establishment of the Ombudsman institution, and Turkmenistan's efforts in protecting the rights of children and women. It was also noted that as an important contribution to the development of an open dialogue on humanitarian issues between the EU and Turkmenistan is the annual holding of the Human Rights Dialogue, which is a good platform for exchanging views on these areas.

Taking into account the current situation in the world, joint efforts to strengthen international security must remain an unconditional priority in the work. It was stressed that the sustainable development of the region, as well as its political and economic security, should be an important goal of future cooperation, which will promote more effective use of regional cooperation, including water and natural resources management, environmental protection, climate change and others.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to hold the next 11th round of the Dialogue on Human Rights "European Union - Turkmenistan" in Ashgabat in 2019.