On November 3, an online meeting between the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Khadzhiev and the regional representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for Central Asia, Richard Komenda, was held .
The meeting was also attended by UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapochenko , the country's Foreign Ministry reports .
The parties discussed issues of interaction between Turkmenistan and the UN specialized agencies for human rights.
The diplomats also spoke about the activities of the Working Group of the Interdepartmental Commission (IAC) to ensure the implementation of Turkmenistan's international obligations in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law and the implementation of the IAC's Joint Action Plan on the implementation of Turkmenistan’s international obligations in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law.
It is reported that "the government's regular contacts with the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the coordination of joint projects, as well as the organization of visits of UN experts to Turkmenistan are emphasized ."
The UN Office in Turkmenistan did not report the meeting.
In February, it was reported that despite the undertaken obligations, Turkmenistan did not invite UN special rapporteurs to the country, who should assess the human rights situation on the spot. The deadline for the implementation of the first National Action Plan for Human Rights (NHRAP), which provides for a visit by UN representatives, expired in 2020, but the special rapporteurs did not visit Turkmenistan.
In this regard, the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights and the International Partnership for Human Rights called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan to “satisfy all requests from UN special procedures to visit the country, incl. UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, etc.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan