Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 In February, President Berdimuhamedov was re-elected with 97.4% of the vote. The OSCE did not send election monitors, citing limited political freedom in Turkmenistan. In March, the UN Human Rights Committee concluded that although Turkmenistan showed a “new willingness” to improve its human rights record, a disparity between legislation and implementation persisted. Turkmenistan remained closed to international scrutiny: despite a visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross, no independent international organizations were allowed to carry out monitoring. Turkmenistan failed to fully co-operate with UN human rights mechanisms. On 9 October, the European Parliament’s Read the full article…

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Turkmenistan: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 9, 2013

Freedom House 9 May 2013 President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov in February was reelected to a second five-year term, winning 97 percent of the vote, according to the election commission, against a field of candidates who were all associated with the ruling party. In March, Berdymukhammedov announced plans to form two new political parties, though both were organized by loyal members of the government and thus not expected to challenge the status quo. Read full report here.

Turkmenistan: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Although the constitution declares Turkmenistan to be a secular democracy and a presidential republic, the country has an authoritarian government controlled by the president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and his Democratic Party. Berdimuhamedov remained president following a February election that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights determined involved limited choice between competing political alternatives. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The three most important human rights problems were arbitrary arrest; torture; and disregard for civil liberties, including restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and Read the full article…

Turkmenistan: Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Published by on April 15, 2013

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office 15 April 2013 Turkmenistan is a signatory to most international human rights instruments and its national legislation and constitution contain provisions for the protection of those rights. In 2012, we continued to have significant human rights concerns in Turkmenistan. There is a broad gap between the government’s rhetoric on democracy and human rights and its practice. This was underlined when Turkmenistan appeared before the UN Human Rights Committee in March. The HRC noted that, while Turkmenistan had shown willingness to improve its human rights record, there was a broad gap between the country’s legislation and Read the full article…

Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Published by on April 1, 2013

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office April 2013 SECTION IX: Human Rights in the Countries of Concern This section contains our review of the human rights situation in 27 countries where the UK Government has wide-ranging concerns. For this year’s report, we decided to review thoroughly the criteria we use for deciding which countries are of most human rights concern to the UK. We drew on feedback from the Foreign Affairs Committee and consulted with the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights in doing so. Our geographical directors, with input from our embassies and high commissions overseas, subsequently assessed all Read the full article…

Turkmenistan: World Report 2013

Published by on January 31, 2013

Human Rights Watch 31 January 2013 Following February 2012 presidential elections, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov retained unchallenged power, and Turkmenistan remains one of the world’s most repressive countries. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny, media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal. The government continues to use imprisonment as a tool for political retaliation. Turkmenistan continued to expand relations with foreign governments and international organizations in 2012, but without meaningful outcomes for human rights. Read full report here.

Turkmenistan: Amnesty International annual report 2012

Published by on May 24, 2012

Amnesty International Annual Report 2012: the state of the world’s human rights Turkmenistan Published on 24 May 2012 The UN Committee against Torture found torture to be “widespread” in Turkmenistan. The government continued to clamp down on journalists and human rights defenders. Torture and other ill-treatment There were continued reports of torture or other ill-treatment of human rights defenders, journalists, and certain religious minorities by police, officers of the Ministry of National Security and prison personnel. The authorities failed to carry out effective investigations into such allegations. In June the Committee against Torture published its Concluding Observations on Turkmenistan. The Read the full article…

Turkmenistan: Religious Freedoms U.S. Report

Published by on June 2, 2011

In May 2011 the United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms published its annual report (covering 1st April 2010 - 31st March 2011). The Commission designated Turkmenistan a “country of particular concern”. Here is the Commission’s summary of religious freedom in Turkmenistan: “Severe religious freedom violations and official harassment of religious adherents persist in Turkmenistan. Despite limited reforms undertaken by Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov since 2007, the country’s laws, policies, and practices continue to violate international human rights norms, including those on freedom of religion or belief. Police raids and other harassment of registered and unregistered religious groups continue more than Read the full article…