Human Rights and Democracy Report - Turkmenistan

We continued to have significant concerns about the human rights situation in Turkmenistan, and there was little meaningful progress during 2014. The Turkmen authorities were publicly committed to a policy of gradual reform, but there was little evidence to suggest that the situation would improve significantly in the immediate future. Turkmenistan is a signatory to most international human rights instruments, and has a constitution and laws which provide for the protection of those rights. However, its record on implementation is poor. The UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern in March 2012 about torture, degrading treatment, and lack of freedom of assembly and association. There has been little change since then. There is no independent media, and internet access is limited. Corruption and lack of transparency remain serious and widespread problems. And Turkmenistan needs to make much more progress towards a genuinely pluralistic political system.

Our objectives for 2014 were to continue to use high-level engagement – including through international partners such as the EU, the Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN – to encourage Turkmenistan to do more to meet its international human rights obligations; and to support projects to encourage better governance and human rights reform. The British Ambassador raised concerns bilaterally in contacts with the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Institute of Democracy & Human Rights, and Turkmenistan's Religious Council. Our concerns have also been reflected in key EU statements such as those at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna in February and May. In parallel, the British Embassy worked on a number of reform-related projects during the year, including one through UN Development Programme (UNDP) to assist Turkmenistan in formulating a National Human Rights Action Plan. This plan, due to be published in 2015, should address action points arising from Turkmenistan's second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2013. Details of other projects supported by the Embassy are included in the thematic sections below. Our efforts have had only a modest impact to date, but we believe it important to continue engagement to support and keep attention focused on the need for more and faster reform.

In 2015, the UK will continue to raise issues of concern both bilaterally and alongside partners in the EU, OSCE and UN. We will also continue to seek to encourage and support reform in Turkmenistan, helping in whatever way we can, as was made clear by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister for Central Asia, Tobias Ellwood, during a meeting in London in November with Turkmenistan's visiting Minister for Education.

Elections

2014 saw no substantial progress towards political pluralism and a genuine opposition. In March, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) report into the December 2013 parliamentary elections noted that, "the elections took place in a strictly controlled political environment characterised by a lack of respect for fundamental freedoms that are central to democratic elections". They concluded that the elections needed to be "significantly improved to live up to OSCE commitments and other international obligations for genuine and democratic elections".

ODIHR outlined a list of 30 recommendations to help Turkmenistan improve its electoral system, and made clear the OSCE's readiness to assist the authorities in following them up. The leader of ODIHR's Election Assessment Mission visited Turkmenistan at the end of May, and held discussions with officials from Turkmenistan's Parliament on the scope for further cooperation on electoral reform. In December, visiting Special Representatives from the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly noted that Turkmenistan still needed to make progress in a number of spheres, and emphasised the importance of engaging civil society in the process. A long-awaited second political group – the Agrarian Party – was formed on 28 September. However, as things stand, it will do little to redress the democratic deficit in Turkmenistan.

The British Embassy supported a project though UNDP to try to enhance Turkmenistan's electoral framework through a series of capacity-building activities involving election officials, media, women candidates and observers, and to increase public awareness of elections, political parties and public organisations. Turkmenistan next goes to the polls in a presidential election due in 2017.

Freedom of Expression and Assembly

The media continued to be tightly controlled, and dissenting opinion suppressed. NGO Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan 195 out of 197 countries in its 2014 Freedom of the Press index, and Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkmenistan 178 out of the 180 countries it covers. International newspapers and other foreign written media are not readily available in Turkmenistan. Internet services remained under-developed and strictly controlled, with less than 10% of the population currently having access. The Turkmen government routinely blocked sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. However, satellite dishes capable of receiving Russian, Turkish and other international news and entertainment channels are readily available and widely used. The British Embassy funded a small project, through the OSCE Centre-in-Ashgabat, to enhance the professional skills of domestic journalists and media specialists. The project included a study visit by five Turkmen journalists to Lithuania to observe modern journalism practices, and a four-day training course in Ashgabat on best practice in modern journalism.

Despite the existence of legal provisions on the right to freedom of assembly, the authorities rarely allow citizens to exercise that right freely, and public protest is extremely rare.

Human Rights Defenders

Human rights defenders (HRDs) are unable to operate in Turkmenistan, and the registration process for NGOs is complex, bureaucratic, and subject to arbitrary state assessment. Unregistered NGO activity is punishable by fines, short-term detention and confiscation of property.

The EU expressed deep concern about the situation of civil society and of HRDs in Turkmenistan in a statement at the OSCE Permanent Council in May. The EU urged the Turkmen authorities to comply fully with international commitments on freedom of association, including those relating to regulation of domestic NGOs and facilitating access for international NGOs. The EU also called for Turkmen participation in the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw, and engagement with civil society, including on issues such as the "Prove They Are Alive Campaign". Despite this, the Turkmen government again refused to attend because, they contend, certain exiled individuals who attended the meeting are guilty of criminal offences in Turkmenistan. The EU noted in its closing statement at HDIM that Turkmenistan had missed "a valuable opportunity for an open and frank dialogue on this and other issues", encouraged future engagement by Turkmenistan, and repeated concerns about the practice of enforced disappearances and the treatment of political prisoners in Turkmenistan.

The EU remained particularly concerned about ongoing uncertainty over the fate of a number of individuals convicted between December 2002 and January 2003 in trials relating to the alleged coup in 2002. The EU therefore encouraged Turkmenistan – including at the OSCE Permanent Council in February – to respond to recommendations made in the report of the fact-finding mission established in 2002 by the invocation of the OSCE's Moscow Mechanism (which led to an inconclusive investigation into the fate of individuals said to have been involved in the November 2002 incident).

Access to Justice and the Rule of Law

We will continue to raise with the Turkmen authorities the importance of the rule of law, including lobbying on individual cases where appropriate. It remains difficult for individuals to challenge court decisions. We have yet to see evidence of an improvement in prison conditions. Corruption and a general lack of transparency remain a problem in Turkmenistan. Transparency International ranked Turkmenistan 169 out of 175 countries and territories surveyed in its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Death Penalty

Turkmenistan abolished the death penalty in 1999 and again co-sponsored the biennial resolution on a "Moratorium on the use of the Death Penalty", which was adopted at the UN General Assembly on 21 November. The UK welcomed this support for the global advocacy effort against the death penalty.

Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment

We continued to have serious concerns about reports that security officials tortured and beat detainees to extract confessions and as a form of punishment. This remained an issue high on the agenda of civil society stakeholders. However, we welcomed Turkmenistan's undertaking, in the context of its UPR, to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

International bodies, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are denied unfettered access to detention facilities in Turkmenistan. We are, however, encouraged that the Turkmen authorities again allowed limited access to selected detention centres by the ICRC and, for the first time, by the OSCE Centre-in-Ashgabat. The UK encourages further such engagement with international organisations and experts.

Prison conditions on the whole are unsanitary, overcrowded and unsafe and the nutritional value of prison food is poor. Some facilities are located in areas of extremely harsh climate conditions. The Turkmen government has declared its intention to modernise existing penitentiary facilities and build new ones according to international standards. The British Embassy conducted a project though the OSCE Centre-in-Ashgabat and Penal Reform International (PRI) to enable senior law-enforcement officials from Turkmenistan to learn about prison management in the UK. Participants discussed PRI's work on torture prevention, complaints and inspection mechanisms, criminal justice issues and penal reform, as well as offender rehabilitation and treatments for drug-users in prison. The UK will continue to encourage the Turkmen authorities to allow full and independent access to detention facilities and individual prisoners.

Freedom of Religion or Belief

Although the constitution of Turkmenistan does not prescribe a state religion and provides for religious freedom, the practice of religion is largely government-controlled. Any religious organisation wishing to operate must register with the authorities, but bureaucratic and other hurdles make obtaining registration difficult. Even those organisations that have registered can find it difficult to operate, due to government constraints on opening new premises and on the size of services. Turkmen law prohibits proselytising and the publication of religious literature. The import of any religious publication has to be approved by the Council of Religious Affairs, and such approvals are difficult to obtain. Individuals and religious communities still experience administrative restrictions or various other forms of harassment.

In 2014 we received further credible reports of harassment from the authorities against Jehovah's Witnesses. Both we and EU partners again raised the issue with the Turkmen authorities and emphasised the importance of Turkmenistan abiding by its international commitments and obligations. We are pleased therefore that eight Jehovah's Witnesses were released in October as part of a presidential amnesty.

The OSCE Centre-in-Ashgabat has worked with the government of Turkmenistan on a number of other important initiatives relating to freedom of religion and belief. It organised a training course in May on international standards on freedom of religion or belief. Led by two international experts from the UK, the course brought together 23 participants, including members of Turkmenistan's parliament (Mejlis), representatives of the Council of Religious Affairs, the National Institute of Democracy & Human Rights, and law enforcement bodies. In November, there was a five-day working visit to Belgium for Turkmen officials to learn more about international standards and national practices on freedom of religion and belief. The UK will continue to use suitable opportunities to raise with the government of Turkmenistan the importance of respecting the fundamental and universal values of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

Women's Rights

A cultural bias against reporting or acknowledging rape and domestic violence makes determining the extent of these problems in Turkmenistan difficult. The OSCE continued to support women's rights in Turkmenistan. It held seminars in February and July for policy-makers and law-enforcement officials to raise participants' awareness about women's empowerment and the importance of gender mainstreaming in the development of public policy. Participants were also informed about international treaties and other instruments covering these issues, as well as OSCE commitments for the promotion of gender equality. The UK will look for opportunities to support this work in the years ahead.

Minority Rights

As a result of legal and other measures designed to reinforce Turkmenistan's national identity, some minority groups within the country (particularly ethnic Uzbeks and Russians) find it difficult to preserve their national and linguistic identity and exercise freedom of travel, as a result of bureaucratic obstacles relating to those holding dual nationality. Despite a legal framework which provides for equal rights and freedoms for all citizens, Turkmen citizens belonging to ethnic minorities are mostly excluded from government jobs even if they speak Turkmen. A presidential decree requires that at least 70% of personnel employed by an organisation have to be Turkmen. However, Turkmenistan undertook, in the context of its second UPR, to consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families.

LGB&T Rights

Same-sex relations between men are punishable by imprisonment (from two to 20 years), whilst those between women are not mentioned in the Criminal Code. Although this provision is rarely applied, homophobia is widespread, and LGB&T individuals hide their sexual orientation to avoid discrimination. Despite encouragement to the contrary, Turkmenistan refused, in the context of its latest UPR, to decriminalise sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex.

Other Issues

EU/Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue

The annual EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels in September covered the situation in detention centres in Turkmenistan (including reports of mistreatment of detainees, overcrowding, and poor conditions), freedom of expression, women's rights, and cooperation with international organisations. The EU welcomed some positive legislative reforms, and encouraged Turkmenistan to move forward with the adoption of a National Human Rights Action Plan. The EU also raised serious concerns about continued reports of grave human rights violations in Turkmenistan, including the torture and mistreatment of detainees, enforced disappearances, press censorship and blocking of websites, excessive restrictions on civil society, and violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. Individual cases were also raised. The next round of the dialogue should take place in Ashgabat in 2015.