OREANDA-NEWS. June 23, 2011. The two-day workshop on the study of the methodology, advanced practices and planning for the elaboration of national human rights action plans was held in the Turkmen capital.

The forum held in the framework of the EU/UNDP/OHCHR Project Strengthening the National Capacity of Turkmenistan to Promote and Protect Human Rights was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan (TNIDHR). The workshop participants represented the Mejlis, Turkmen ministries and departments, public organisations of the Galkynysh National Movement and the EU/UNDP/OHCHR Project. Mrs. Helene Marceau and Andrey Brigidin participated in the workshop as international experts.

It was noted that since Turkmenistan gained independence and became a full member of the international community, it had been consistently conducting the activities to democratize further the society and in the field of human rights, aiming its efforts at building the legal framework and developing the implementation mechanisms. In this context it was emphasized that the Turkmen state, which had acceded to the fundamental human rights conventions, met its international commitments.

Today, the active work on the study of international practices and implementation of relevant standards in statutory and legal acts regulating all spheres of social relations is carried out in Turkmenistan under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to improve the regulatory framework. A critical result of the ongoing legal reform was the adoption of the new Constitution of Turkmenistan, which declares an individual the highest value of the society and state, guarantees the protection of the interests, rights and freedoms to every individual and citizen. The critical steps taken in this field are establishment of a number of consultative bodies, including the Interagency Commission for monitoring Turkmenistan’s compliance with international commitments and the opening of the TNIDHR Information Centre for Human Rights.

During the forum the international experts made the presentations on the basics of the national human rights action plans, the methodology and approaches to developing the programmes that provide for specific steps to update laws and law enforcement practices, the national human rights protection system. The overviews of the methodology for development and implementation of action plans were presented to the workshop participants.

During the discussions the participants called for enhancing mutually beneficial contacts in the legal sector and considered the possibilities for cooperation in this field.