At its 104th session on 12-30 March 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Committee will review Turkmenistan’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is the first review of Turkmenistan under this fundamental human rights treaty, to which it acceded in 1997. The Turkmen authorities, however, for years failed to report to the Committee on their implementation of it.
In a joint submission to the Committee in advance of its review of Turkmenistan, Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) highlight major concerns in key areas of the Covenant. These areas include: the ban on torture, treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly and the situation of civil society. The submission also makes recommendations for steps that the Turkmen authorities should be asked to take to address existing problems.