Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is
a signatory to most international human rights instruments, including the core
UN human rights conventions, and its national legislation and constitution
contain provisions for the protection of basic human rights principles. However, implementation remains a problem and
we continue to have concerns about Turkmenistan’s human rights record. In the first half of 2010 President
Berdimuhamedov made a number of encouraging statements pledging his commitment
to introduce reforms, including a move to a multi-party electoral system and
the creation of an independent media.
While there have been some positive steps this year, such as the
registration of the Catholic Church and the adoption of a new criminal procedural
code in August, we have yet to see the implementation of wider reforms and
there was little substantive progress in the second half of 2010. The government of Turkmenistan nevertheless
reiterated its intention to introduce reforms, with a focus on new legislation,
but at its own pace.
The UK took all
appropriate opportunities to raise human rights with the government in
2010. We continued to press for access
to all detention facilities by the International Committee of the Red Cross. We have sought to persuade the Turkmen
government of the value of civil society, including through supporting local
projects on issues such as youth leadership which encouraged young people in
Turkmenistan to debate government policy.
We have also raised individual human rights cases. Our Embassy continued to support a BBC World
Service Trust project on media regulation reform which we hope will lead to the
introduction of new media legislation in 2011.
A key area of our work in 2010 was on reform of the penal code and
efforts to ensure that the code was consistent with international human rights
standards. We also funded seminars on
alternatives to imprisonment, prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration into
society, and strengthening advocacy skills.
In 2011, the
Turkmen government is likely to maintain its policy of committing itself to
reform, but taking only incremental steps.
The Turkmen government continues to monitor political developments
elsewhere in the region closely and we judge that further instability in the
region will reduce the prospects for more substantive and accelerated reform in
Turkmenistan.
Human rights
are an important component of our bilateral relationship with
Turkmenistan. We will continue to
encourage the government towards greater respect for human rights, genuine
political pluralism, better governance and greater tolerance of civil
society. In doing so, we will urge
Turkmenistan to act in accordance with its international obligations, including
the recommendations it accepted in the course of its UN Universal Periodic
Review in December 2008. We will
encourage the Turkmen authorities to focus on specific and concrete outcomes,
including those related to multi-party democracy and media independence. We will continue to support the BBC World
Service Trust with their project on reforming media regulation, and will
encourage other donors to contribute. We
will also look for opportunities to build on our support for reform of the penal
code and will continue to press for access to prisons by the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
Rule of law
Corruption
remains a problem in Turkmenistan.
Transparency International ranked Turkmenistan 172 out of 178 states
surveyed in its 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. We will continue to encourage the Turkmen
government to take action to address corruption, including by reporting under
the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
While the
adoption in 2010 of a new criminal procedural code was a welcome development,
we have yet to see evidence of an improvement to sentencing and prison
conditions. It also remains difficult
for individuals to challenge court decisions.
We are aware of instances in which implementation of the law varies from
the written code, resulting in sentences being passed that bear little
resemblance to those recommended in the criminal code. We will continue to raise with the Turkmen
authorities the issue of adherence to the rule of law, including, where
necessary, lobbying on individual cases.
Torture and other ill treatment
There remained
no access for international bodies such as the International Committee of the
Red Cross to detention facilities in Turkmenistan, and it was therefore
difficult to ascertain an accurate picture of the treatment of prisoners. However, there were reports pointing to the
use of torture and inhumane practices in prisons. Although the International Committee of the
Red Cross continued to cooperate with the government of Turkmenistan through
assistance with humanitarian law as well as in other areas, there was no
progress on their access to prisons in 2010, despite UK and EU efforts.
Prisons and detention issues
There is no
independent monitoring of prisons and conditions remain poor. There are reports that some prisoners have
only limited access to basic food and healthcare, and visits by family members
remain extremely difficult. However, we
understand that the government is considering the construction of new prisons. We are looking at how we might be able to support
this process, for instance by putting the government in touch with appropriate
British companies. Our Embassy also
worked with the government on the reform of their penal code, in particular on
compliance with international human rights standards, including prison
management procedures. A new criminal procedural
code was adopted in August which took into account important elements of our
advice. Our Embassy also funded a visit
to the UK in February by the deputy interior minister which focused on prison
management, reform and rehabilitation of offenders.
Human rights defenders
We remain
concerned that no human rights defenders are able to operate in
Turkmenistan. On a number of occasions
during 2010, the Turkmen authorities tried to prevent those Turkmen human
rights defenders based outside the country from attending international human
rights and civil society meetings held outside Turkmenistan. There were also reports of the Turkmen
authorities taking action against human rights defenders based abroad by
targeting the extended family still living in Turkmenistan. This included preventing family members from
securing jobs, gaining access to schools and medical facilities, or from
leaving the country. We continued to
voice our concerns to the government of Turkmenistan, including in the annual
EU–Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue.
Freedom of expression
The media in
Turkmenistan remains government-controlled and very few independent journalists
are allowed to operate freely. The
increase in internet access in 2010, including the opening of a small number of
new internet cafés in Ashgabat and other towns, was a welcome development, but
targeted internet censorship remains a concern.
There has also been a significant increase in the use of mobile telephones. However, in December, the government
suspended the operation of an independent Russian mobile operator who also
provided internet access, which effectively forced all customers to use the
state-run service. It is not possible to
buy international newspapers or any other foreign written media in
Turkmenistan. However, satellite dishes
capable of receiving Russian, Turkish and many other international news and
entertainment programmes are readily available.
The government continued to welcome important assistance from the BBC
World Service Trust on the reform of media regulation and we hope this
assistance will be reflected in the media legislation in 2011.
Freedom of religion and belief
After much delay, the Catholic Church was
finally registered in March. While we
welcomed this development, religion remains largely government-controlled and
any religious organisation wishing to operate in the country must register with
the authorities. Obtaining registration
is not easy, and those organisations that have registered find it very
difficult to operate due to government constraints on the opening of new
premises and the size of services. It
remains almost impossible to bring any religious material into Turkmenistan and
those who try to do so can be subject to a range of repercussions such as being
forced out of their jobs, banned from international travel or by having access
to education restricted for some family members. Jehovah’s Witnesses are subject to harassment
and several have been imprisoned for objecting to military service. The government have backtracked on their 2008
commitment to consider alternatives to military service, making it clear that
the law will not be changed. Citizens
who do not sign up for military service therefore continue to break the law and
are dealt with accordingly. Freedom of
religion and belief was one of a number of issues raised during the annual EU–Turkmenistan
Human Rights Dialogue in June.
