BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
Turkmenistan and European Union (EU) continue to cooperate on issues related to human rights, a representative of the EU delegation to Turkmenistan told Trend.
“Effective implementation of human rights-related laws, action plans and functioning human rights institutions, like the Ombudsperson, remains a priority in the EU-Turkmenistan cooperation,” said the representative.
The EU holds annual meetings of the Human Rights Dialogue, which allows for open and constructive discussions on sensitive issues related to human rights and democratization, said the delegation's member.
The situation of human rights in Turkmenistan has been discussed in the UN in 2018. The representative of Ashgabat stated that his country had joined to a number of international treaties, and the accession to the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the International criminal court and the optional Protocol to the Convention against torture, which allows human rights defenders to visit without preconditions the prisons of states being parties to the Protocol, is under consideration now.
Meanwhile, an OSCE-organized seminar aimed at improving collaboration on human rights promotion and protection in Turkmenistan was held in Ashgabat in 2019. Also, the 12th annual meeting of the Human Rights Dialogue was held on June, 18, 2020. During the meeting, issues of expanding cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law were discussed.
The EU Delegation representative further said that Turkmenistan's status of permanent neutrality has contributed to its role in promoting regional stability.
"In addition, permanent neutrality status helps tackling common threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, and illicit drug trafficking and transnational organized crime," said the representative.
“Promotion of regional dialogue and conflict prevention approach is supported by the EU through the High-Level Political and Security Dialogue, the Central Asia Border Security Initiative and several related projects,” said the representative.
Turkmenistan is closely coordinating its activity with the UN in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and other threats. The country has stated that it stands for full implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Turkmenistan cooperates with such international agencies as the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
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