OSCE Office in Tajikistan

The Office provides capacity- and institution-building for human rights institutions and actors, as well as awareness-raising and networking activities for and among professional groups, civil society and the public at large. It contributes to enhancing trust and co-operation between and among governmental entities, civil society and the general public through dialogue on the promotion, protection and implementation of human rights.

The Office supports a regular cycle of dialogue between government and civil society representatives on key OSCE Human Dimension Commitments.  The process includes an annual Preparatory Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, held in the summer in Dushanbe, followed by participation of a Tajik delegation in the OSCE/ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, held in early autumn in Warsaw.  In the July 2010 event, over 150 participants, including 30 representatives of government and 40 persons from the regions of Tajikistan, produced practical recommendations on issues including freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, torture prevention, property and housing rights, abolition of the death penalty, participation of women in public and political, and addressing domestic violence.

The 2010 dialogue continued when a delegation of high-level government officials and civil society representatives participated in the OSCE Review Conference, 28 September – 8 October, generating a valuable record of position papers on which their public interventions were based.  See. The record includes information, analysis and recommendations that are of use to all actors as tools for reviewing, shaping and improving policy and practice in the area of human rights in Tajikistan.

Human Rights Week brings together a large coalition of international organizations, government and civil society. In 2009 a mini-video on equal opportunity ran nationwide on TV and electronic billboards.

To mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OSCE joined forces with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Department on Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens' Rights within the Office of the President and a broad coalition of international and local organizations to organize awareness-raising events throughout most of December.  These events deepen the dialogue process and expand its outreach.  In 2010, over 30 actions, tailored to the concerns of diverse stakeholders, were organized nationwide. 

On 10 December 2010/International Human Rights Day, the OSCE, in co-operation with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, organized a conference, “Human Rights Education in Tajikistan: Achievements and Future Steps.”  The conference presented the results of a review of the 2001-2010 State Programme on Human Rights Education, also supported by the OSCE, and explored the potential for new strategies and directions in formal and informal human rights education.

The Office piloted extracurricular civic education courses in Garm and Shartuz in fall 2010, introducing over 100 schoolchildren to principles of citizenship, practical tools for successful participation in civic life, and domestic and international mechanisms for rights protection. These courses generated wide interest among students, teachers and parents, on which the Office will capitalize in 2011, expanding the courses to more beneficiaries in the regions.