Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

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
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