Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Turkmenistan

In 2017, there were continued allegations of torture and poor prison conditions, and no visible improvement in gender equality, freedom of expression, of religion or belief, of speech and of movement, or in the rights of those belonging to minorities, including LGBT people. The presidential election did not offer voters a meaningful choice of candidates. Human rights defenders continued to operate largely from outside the country. Few contacted foreign embassies for fear of reprisals by the authorities against them or their families. Turkmenistan has signed many of the international conventions on human rights and has incorporated their requirements into law, but implementation remains poor or non-existent.

The Turkmen government appointed Yazdursun Gurbannazarova as Human Rights Ombudswoman in March for a five-year term of office. In September, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) approved a Turkmen declaration linking participation of refugee teams in the Olympics to the protection of refugee rights, a positive response to a Turkmen initiative to strengthen their engagement with the HRC. However, we regret that Turkmenistan did not participate in the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, and we encouraged them to resume participation in 2018.

During his visit to Ashgabat in May, the Permanent Undersecretary of State (PUS) at the FCO, Sir Simon McDonald, raised human rights directly with Foreign Minister Raşit Meredov, who assured him that Turkmenistan is in the process of implementing its new National Human Rights Action Plan. The PUS confirmed that the UK would continue to engage and support Turkmenistan on human rights. The PUS was the first senior foreign visitor to call on the Ombudswoman, to whom he offered UK support. The British Embassy is providing help to set up her office, working through the UN Development Programme (UNDP). As part of the National Human Rights Action Plan, the UNDP, with support from the British Embassy, organised training for the judiciary in implementing international standards of justice.

NGOs outside Turkmenistan continued to call for information on over 80 people taken into detention, the majority of whom were detained 15 years ago. In March, the EU asked the Turkmen government to re-examine some of the cases raised ahead of the Human Rights Dialogue in 2017 together with some new cases, and received a written response covering a small number of the individuals listed. The EU further urged the Turkmen government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Turkmen government continued to deny the use of torture, but has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. In January, foreign ambassadors in Ashgabat, including the British Ambassador, visited the women's prison in Dashoguz. Despite repeated requests, permission was not granted to visit the Ovadan Depe detention centre where many political prisoners are said to be held and where NGOs allege that prisoners are tortured. In a traditional gesture of goodwill, the president pardoned some 3,400 prisoners to mark national holidays in February, June and October.

The OSCE held a seminar in May to discuss how the Turkmen government could bring its media legislation into line with its OSCE commitments and international standards. There remains, however, no independent media in Turkmenistan, and the state prohibits the sale of foreign publications. The authorities block most social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and WhatsApp, and many internet sites.

NGOs outside Turkmenistan continued to report the persecution of religious groups and the arrest and torture in prison of those accused of Wahhabism. The embassies of EU Member States in Ashgabat, in company with the embassies of Canada, Norway and the US, raised concerns regarding the obstacles still faced by religious groups seeking legal registration.

The state further curtailed freedom of movement in 2017. During the months before the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the authorities banned vehicles registered in other parts of the country from entering the capital. They closed the border to all foreign visitors except those holding accreditation for the Games. For security reasons, they forced residents to leave flats overlooking the site until the Games were completed and no provision was made for their housing elsewhere. Restrictions remained in place on vehicles from outside the city and surrounding Ahal province.

The incumbent president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, won the presidential election on 12 February with 97.69% of the vote. The OSCE / Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Assessment Mission reported that the elections had taken place in a strictly controlled political environment with a lack of genuine opposition and transparency. They also noted serious irregularities in the voting process, with a rigidly constrained media giving the incumbent a clear advantage.

Data on girls' education is not readily available in Turkmenistan. According to UNESCO statistics in 2014, girls had an almost equal share to boys in primary and secondary education with a ratio of 0.97%. We believe the practice of keeping girls from school is decreasing and we are not aware of any disparity in performance between girls and boys. The British Embassy has supported gender equality projects promoting the rights and empowerment of rural women run by international organisations and local NGOs. We will consider support for a UNFPA project empowering teenage girls in rural areas in 2018.

In 2018, we will continue to work closely with the EU and other like-minded countries represented in Ashgabat, as well as bilaterally, to raise human rights concerns with the Turkmen government and to press for reform. Using project funding, we will continue to support the human rights work of UNDP and the OSCE, as well as local NGOs where possible, focusing on the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan, improving the judicial system, and supporting the Ombudswoman's office and gender equality.