VZCZCXRO0148
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0900/01 1981301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171301Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3163
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5449
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3174
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3039
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3693
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1056
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3728
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000900 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, PRM, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN: OSCE HOLDS SEMINAR ON TURKMEN HUMAN RIGHTS 
ORGANS 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified.  Not for Internet distribution 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  At a July 16 seminar for government officials 
devoted to the subject of improving the work of Turkmen human rights 
institutions, an OSCE expert from Sweden explained the international 
legal framework regulating governmental human rights organs and the 
role of human rights commissions in dealing with individual 
complaints.   International experts from Ireland, Estonia, 
Azerbaijan and the Netherlands delivered presentations on the roles 
of their national commissions on human rights in dealing with 
individual complaints.  According to a Turkmen government official, 
Turkmenistan has approached some international organizations for 
advice on establishing an independent human rights institute.  The 
seminar, which was part of a series of Turkmenistan-OSCE joint 
projects for 2009, was held in the framework of legal reform in 
Turkmenistan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
TURKMENISTAN-OSCE JOINT PROJECT 
 
¶3. (SBU) The director of the State Institute for Democracy and Human 
Rights (IDHR), Shirin Ahmedova opened the session, saying that the 
seminar being was held in the framework of legal reform with the aim 
of further democratization of Turkmen society and improvement of its 
national legislation.  In this regard, Ahmedova underscored that 
Turkmenistan pays significant importance to learning from the 
experiences of other members of the international community and 
strengthening contacts with foreign partners such as the United 
Nations and OSCE.  Yesterday's seminar was one such event organized 
by OSCE together with the Turkmen government in the framework of 
their joint projects in 2009. 
 
EXPERT PRESENTATIONS 
 
¶4. (SBU) Frank Orton, former Ombudsman in Sweden and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, delivered a presentation on the international legal 
framework regulating the national human rights institutes, Paris 
Principles.  He also made a presentation on the role of Human Rights 
Commissions in dealing with individual complaints, discussing best 
practices and concrete examples from different countries.  Shemshat 
Atajanova, Head of the Department of Human Rights Issues and the 
Protection of Democracy of IDHR, in her presentation talked about 
current mechanisms of dealing with individual complaints.  Sinead 
Lucey, Senior Enquiries and Legal Officer of the Irish Human Rights 
Commission delivered a presentation on the work of that office, and 
talked about its mandate and work in dealing with individual human 
rights complaints.  Indrek Teder, Chancellor of Justice from 
Estonia, spoke about the mandate and work of his office.  Mehman 
Amiraliyev, Head of the Department of Protection of Human Rights of 
the Office of Ombudsman on Human Rights from Azerbaijan, spoke about 
the mandate and work of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the 
Republic of Azerbaijan.  Adriana Stehouwer, Deputy Ombudsman of the 
Netherlands, made a presentation on the mandate and work of the 
Ombudsman in the Netherlands in dealing with the human rights 
complaints referred to her office.  Listening to the presentations, 
Ahmedova said that "Turkmenistan is keen to learn international best 
practices of dealing with individual complaints."  The presentations 
were followed by a Q&A session. 
 
TURKMENISTAN AND AN INDEPENDENT HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE 
 
¶5. (SBU) In the course of the seminar, Ahmedova mentioned that as a 
result of Turkmenistan's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports to 
the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in December 2008 and March 
2009, the UPR made recommendations to Turkmenistan with regard to 
its human rights records.  In particular, one of the recommendations 
was that Turkmenistan establish an independent human rights body. 
Pursuing the recommendation, IDHR approached international 
organizations such as UN and OSCE to prepare proposals on the 
institutional character and system of such a body.  She said that 
the new agency/institute would monitor human rights issues in the 
country, put forward proposals, and provide recommendations on human 
rights issues, and be a protector and guarantor of the Constitution. 
 
 
ASHGABAT 00000900  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) The event gathered representatives from IDHR, the Institute 
for State and Law under the President of Turkmenistan, the Mejlis 
(Parliament) of Turkmenistan, Ministries of Justice, Internal 
Affairs, National Security, General Prosecutor's Office, Judges, Bar 
Association, Women's Union, Youth Organization, Ashgabat 
municipality, local media, UN Representation in Turkmenistan, the 
U.S. Embassy, and the OSCE Center in Ashgabat. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT:  Certainly, the creation of an independent human 
rights body in Turkmenistan would be a major improvement.  How 
effective that body would be would depend on the degree of 
independence as well as whether its recommendations or proposals are 
taken seriously by the government.  END COMMENT. 
 
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