DUSHANBE, July 5, 2013, Asia-Plus – Implementation of Tajikistan’s OSCE human rights commitments was the topic of a two-day meeting of government and civil society representatives that concluded in Dushanbe on July 3.

According to the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, some 130 participants, including more than 30 government officials, over 20 political party representatives and 25 participants from the regions of the country discussed issues specific to the country ahead of the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw.

The Dushanbe event, the seventh of its kind, was organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the Department on Constitutional Guarantees of Citizen Rights within the Executive Office of the President. 

Mr. Muzaffar Ashourov, Head of the Department of Constitutional Guarantees of Citizen Rights, told participants: “We welcome concrete recommendations to improve the human rights situation and we will rely on support and co-operation of those making the recommendations in moving forward to put them into practice.”

The agenda for the meeting was developed in a collaborative process facilitated by the OSCE Office.  Participants discussed political life, democratic standards of elections, freedom of expression, freedom of association and the right to peaceful assembly, compensation as a form of redress, and human rights in the armed forces.

Ms. Nigina Bahriyeva, a human rights expert and one of the moderators, said: “This is a unique opportunity for government and civil society to come together to discuss relevant issues and develop joint recommendations to improve the human rights situation in Tajikistan.  Over the years, we have seen that the quality of discussion and the level of openness to discussion on both sides has increased.”