ACTING HIGH COMMISSIONER ADDRESSES OSCE MEETING ON CENTRAL ASIAN STATES

11 June 2003



The following is the statement of acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Information Sharing Meeting of the Central Asian States with international organizations and institutions on Co-Operation In Central Asia, delivered in Vienna on 11 June 2003:
I am very pleased to speak to you today, representatives of Central Asian States, International and Regional Organizations, Financial Institutions and Development Agencies.
Following my recent visit there, I have fresh and vivid impressions of a region rich in history and culture, and a dynamic civil society in several of these countries. I was also struck by the serious issues facing the region, and the need for the international community to come together, and assist these countries to address the problems facing the region. That is why I particularly welcome the opportunity to participate in your meeting today, and to commit the continued co-operation of our Office in this vital region.
Following the UN Secretary-General’s visit to the region in late 2002, our Office was asked to make a similar mission, with a focus on human rights. I carried out this visit to the five countries in the region earlier this year.
I would like to now outline a few of the areas of co-operation our office has in this region, which include: UN Human Rights Treaties, Thematic Procedures, our human rights Field Presence in Tajikistan, and our Regional Project of Technical Cooperation
1. Treaty Bodies
The states of Central Asia have largely acceded to the human rights treaties of the United Nations. These treaties cover such areas as racial discrimination, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, discrimination against women, torture and the rights of the child.
The process of preparing and presenting the required periodic reports on treaty compliance is aimed at constructively supporting governments in improving the national systems of rights protection. Our office, with the support of the Swiss Government, has provided several training sessions for government and civil society on the reporting procedures and individual complaint procedures in Tajikistan. This has supported the establishment of a national commission on treaty reporting, under the leadership of the Prime Minister. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have already presented their first reports to the expert treaty bodies. During my visit to Kazakhstan, the question of accession to the two central human rights covenants was discussed, and I was assured that Kazakhstan will soon join these important treaties.
Examination of individual cases has also been agreed to by some of the countries of Central Asia. This willingness by these countries, to hold themselves up to international scrutiny, and subsequent actions by some to address human rights problems, shows the commitment these countries have to improving human rights. In particular, Tajikistan during the last year has shown through its actions a resolve to address certain human rights issues in accordance with the views of the UN Committee for Human Rights.
2. Thematic Procedures
UN human rights Thematic Procedures, which arise ultimately from the UN Charter, follow various issues in Central Asia. The various thematic mandates receive human rights complaints from around the world. There follows an exchange of letters with the Government, in order to clarify the situation. Thematic procedures which have taken action on individual complaints from Central Asia include the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance.
In some instances, thematic procedures make country visits, to see developments first hand, advise on how to address problem areas and in some cases to learn about innovative approaches in certain countries. Two such country visits have taken place in Central Asia. In 2002, the Special Rapporteur on Torture visited Uzbekistan and in 2001, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders visited Kyrgyzstan.
A recent resolution by the UN Commission on Human Rights has called on several of the thematic procedures to request invitations to Turkmenistan.
The UN Commission on Human Rights has recommended that countries should issue standing invitations to all thematic procedures. While no country in Central Asia has yet done this, many other countries in the world have done so, including nearby countries such as Georgia, Iran and Turkey. We would encourage Central Asian countries to consider extending such a standing invitation.
3. Human Rights Office in Tajikistan
In cooperation with the government and people of Tajikistan, the United Nations has played an important role in peacemaking in this country. In the UN peacebuilding operation, there is a human rights officer, responsible for promoting and reporting on human rights. The human rights officer is assisted by national human rights experts. The work they do there is in close cooperation with the Government, civil society and several international agencies, notably with the OSCE.
The Human Rights Office in Tajikistan carries out regular reporting on the human rights situation. Their most recent public report was issued on 2 June, and can be found on the OHCHR website [www.ohchr.ch].
The Office has also been carrying out technical cooperation projects, with support from the German, Swiss and UK governmentsThe projects have primarily been in the areas of human rights education and the training necessary for reporting on UN human rights treaties. We have had important assistance from government officials from the Russian Federation on these training efforts, drawing on their expertise in treaty reporting and human rights education.
4. Regional Project of Technical Cooperation
The OHCHR Central Asia initiative arises from the UN Secretary-General and the High Commissioner’s emphasis on the development of regional strategies focusing on national capacity building, as well as the call by the UN Inter-agency Framework Team on Conflict Prevention for attention to human rights in the Ferghana Valley region in Central Asia. The resulting project, based on a thorough needs assessment process, was finalized with the governments in the region.
The needs assessment process included missions, fielded between December 2001 and April 2002, to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, following invitations from the respective governments. (OHCHR has not yet received an invitation to conduct a similar mission to Turkmenistan). These missions were carried out by OHCHR with the assistance of independent consultants with a high level of expertise on the region. Meetings were held with representatives of the governments, civil society, international NGOs, the UN country teams, OSCE, and other international organizations and donors active in the field of human rights, in order to identify possible areas for technical cooperation in the field of human rights. Preliminary recommendations for technical cooperation in the field of human rights were formulated. As the final stage of the needs assessment mission, these preliminary recommendations were submitted to an Expert Panel on Central Asia for consideration and comments. On the basis of these reviews, the final project document was finalized in late 2002.
A formal exchange of letters with OHCHR is the basis for agreement on project activities by the governments concerned.
Description of the Project
This four-year project aims at raising broad public understanding of human rights thereby promoting respect for fundamental human rights, societies based on democratic principles, and strengthening national capacities in the field of human rights education in the school system. This will be done through: I. Establishment of an OHCHR Regional Expert in Central Asia, to be a high level resource person on international human rights standards, procedures and application in the national context; II. Capacity development of the education professors, education policy makers, and others working in the field of human rights education who will influence future teachers; III. Provision of targeted human rights resource materials (documents, publications and information through electronic formats and mass media) to the general public and specific professional sectors; IV. Establishment of national and regional dialogues and networks of policy makers, experts, educators, and international organizations and donors active in the areas of human rights and human rights education.
Regional Expert
In addition to the support for training of trainers, a key element of the project is the establishment of an OHCHR Regional Expert to be based in the region. Our Office has identified an excellent candidate for the position of the Regional Expert, who has significant expertise in international human rights standards and procedures and their application at the national level, and of the legal systems and practices in the region. He will be working at the policy and information levels. This will include participation as a trainer in project activities, the convening of roundtable discussion sessions on specific human rights issues for government officials and policy makers, serving as an independent expert to governments, NGOs, UN country teams and other international organizations active in the region, traveling to provincial areas, publishing articles, speaking at public events and in the mass media, and supporting coordination and cooperation with other international organizations and donors active in the field of human rights in the region.
The Regional Expert’s activities in the field of public information and policy development will contribute to the dissemination of human rights information as well as to the mainstreaming of human rights throughout governments’ policies and legislation, and in the work of UN country teams.
As noted, an invitation to conduct a needs assessment mission has not yet been received from the Republic of Turkmenistan. Reports indicate that this country’s needs in terms of human rights awareness among the general public, and human rights education, are great, as in most of the post-Soviet region. Participants from Turkmenistan will be invited to take part in the activities at the regional level foreseen by this project. The OHCHR proposal for a needs assessment to Turkmenistan, which could result in specific support, will remain open.
In conclusion, I would like to again thank you for your invitation to participate today. We look forward to further co-operation.



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