UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea called on Tajikistan to adapt and review its laws, policies, and practices regarding religion or belief following her 10-day visit. She stated that the implementation of religious freedom and belief in the country is a cause for concern.

During a press conference at the UN office in Tajikistan, she also urged Tajikistan’s authorities to “leave the past behind and protect freedom of religion and belief.” Ghanea stated, “This will contribute to development, peace, and understanding in the country. The shadow of civil war looms over laws and customs related to religious freedom, which greatly affects them.”

She noted that the boundaries of implementing freedom of religion or belief are far from international human rights standards.

“Respect for freedom of religion and belief should be reflected in public activities and should apply to all, including women, religious minorities, children, and youth. They should be allowed to exercise this freedom,” added Nazila Ghanea.

During the press conference, it was mentioned that freedom of religion or belief is closely related to the need to preserve traditions and customs, religious practices, and education.

“It is inseparable from freedom of expression and allows independent associations and other members of civil society to contribute to the development of an open civil society,” she added.

As part of her visit to Tajikistan, Nazila Ghanea held meetings with officials from the Dushanbe mayor’s office and visited the city of Khorog in the GBAO region.

In her capacity as an ombudsman, she also met with parliament members, prosecutors, Supreme Court officials, representatives of civil society, religious organizations, and international organizations.

She also visited a prison where political and religious prisoners are held. She emphasized that Tajikistan’s authorities do not acknowledge the presence of political or religious prisoners in the country.

“We visited a prison in Vahdat. We examined the conditions of the prisoners. There are 13 mosques where up to 1,500 inmates can pray. Apart from these mosques, they are not allowed to pray in other places,” said Nazila Ghanea.

The UN rapporteur noted that during meetings, Tajik officials cited some reasons for introducing restrictions.

“For example, the ban on young people under the age of 18 visiting mosques was explained by Tajik authorities on the grounds that young people would miss classes due to mosque attendance. They also explained that the law on regulating traditions and customs was introduced to save money. Regarding the ban on women visiting mosques, it was explained as being against the Hanafi school,” Ghanea noted.

According to her, there were also officials who expressed readiness and efforts to address and resolve the issues.

“I call on the authorities to go beyond their concerns about extremism, terrorism, and incitement of hatred and to reconsider the positive contribution of religion and faith to harmonious and prosperous social life. Religion or belief is not a serious risk factor for public life; they can actively contribute to development, peace, and understanding,” she concluded.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, began her visit to Tajikistan on April 11. She conducted an assessment of religious freedom and its interaction with the rights to freedom of expression, discussed issues related to gender equality, women’s rights, and children’s rights.

A preliminary assessment of the visit will be presented at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2024.

In July 2022, the Human Rights Council appointed Dr. Nazila Ghanea (Iran) as the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. She began her duties on August 1, 2022.

Ghanea is a professor of international law and has conducted research in the field of human rights, working as a consultant for various agencies in this area.

Special Rapporteurs are part of the so-called special procedures of the Human Rights Council. They examine situations in specific countries or thematic issues around the world. These experts work on an unpaid, pro bono basis and are not UN staff members. They are independent from any government or organization.

Source: Asia-Plus

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The UN delegation included Armida Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ivana Živković, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), David Chikvaidze Chef De Cabinet, Office of the UN Director-General, and Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator for Kazakhstan. 

Tokayev emphasized the UN’s exceptional role in strengthening peace and ensuring security.

The UN delegation included Armida Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ivana Živković, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), David Chikvaidze Chef De Cabinet, Office of the UN Director-General, and Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator for Kazakhstan. 

Tokayev emphasized the UN’s exceptional role in strengthening peace and ensuring security.

The President stressed the need to carry out a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, noting the importance of its expansion. He also reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to join efforts with the UN to strengthen its role.

Over 20 different UN institutions are successfully operating in Kazakhstan. Tokayev reiterated the initiative to open the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. The center will focus on strengthening the coordination of UN agencies with the region’s governments by adopting comprehensive measures to advance the 2030 Agenda.

High-ranking UN diplomats shared their impressions of the AIF, highlighting the platform’s strategic importance in developing approaches to addressing the pressing challenges of our time. Central Asia’s role was particularly noted in the transport and logistics sphere and digitalization.

The parties discussed the prospects for developing multifaceted cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN institutions and exchanged views on topical issues of the international and regional agenda.

Source: The Astana Times

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New York, Brussels, Paris (24/1 – 86)

The increasing human rights violations committed by Tajikistan state security officials are a cause for alarm. United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor told Tajikistan to protect its human rights defenders and stop their persecutions from state security agencies.

The special rapporteur visited Tajikistan from November 28 to December 9 and met various representatives from the Tajik government and state institutions as well as numerous human rights defenders, including members of NGOs, human rights lawyers, journalists and bloggers and members of grassroots movements.

During her visit, Lawlor visited Khujand, the provincial capital city of Sughd province, Tajikistan’s northern most province, to meet the local human rights defenders as well as representatives of the regional Ombudsman.

Lawlor said from her various discussions during the mission, there was a limited understanding of the concept of human rights defenders in Tajikistan.

“I also heard with sadness that being considered a human rights defender often carries a negative connotation, and some members of civil society even avoid being referred to as defenders,” she said in her end-of-mission statement.

She also discussed with the Ombudsman on the adoption of a specific Law on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders which she believes would greatly contribute to raising awareness about those who carry out legitimate and peaceful human rights work.

“[It] would significantly contribute not only to their protection, but also their acceptance and recognition within society,” she said

The special rapporteur said that she was aware that the difficult geopolitical and economic situation faced by Tajikistan. Pressures coming from the situation in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine and tensions with Kyrgyzstan all contribute to a delicate geopolitical and security situation which leaves its mark on government policies and actions, she added.

She, however, lamented the fact that human rights defenders have in some cases been labelled as extremists, terrorists and/or foreign agents as a consequence of the harsh regional dynamics.

“The law on preventing extremism, the law on combatting terrorism, and article 307 of the Criminal Code are three pieces of legislation used to criminalize and arrest human rights defenders,” she said.

Lawlor appreciated the establishment of a National Action Plan on Human Rights for the implementation of recommendations from United Nations human rights mechanisms despite its slow implementation process and pointed out to “the lack of genuine, meaningful consultation with and full involvement of members of civil society”.

Another positive development was the adoption of the Anti-Discrimination Law (Law on Equality and Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination) in July 2022, which she termed as “a significant step into the right direction”.

Despite such positive recent developments, Lawlor highlighted the ambivalent cooperation between the Tajik government and the NGOs.

While appreciating NGOs’ involvement in working groups drafting new legislation and policies, at the same time there were “many of the same human rights defenders and NGOs reported feeling not consulted, under significant pressure and operating in an increasingly tightening and unpredictable environment.”

“Some defenders have even been reluctant to meet with me in person, for fear of possible reprisals in the future,” Lawlor revealed.

She also received reports that human rights defenders being subjected to excessive number of inspections and informal questioning. While the Tax Committee can carry out inspections every two years and the Ministry of Justice every three years, the State Security Committee may carry out inspections anytime.

“Human rights defenders and their NGOs are facing significantly increased administrative burdens, which may have a crippling effect especially on small, under-resourced and grassroots organizations,” she said in the statement.

As human rights defenders face increasing persecutions abroad, they might be forced to seek refuge abroad, requiring visa from embassies operating in Dushanbe. However, these embassies, including those of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and United States, have failed in providing such assistance and engagement as required by their own guidelines.

“Many defenders complained of a lack of meaningful engagement from embassies and international agencies. They told me they feel abandoned and have to rely on each other for support. One said they felt left alone with their problems,” Lawlor lamented.

The special rapporteur called on the Embassies, the EU Delegation and international organizations including the UN and OSCE, should further demonstrate solidarity and build trust with human rights defenders.

This could be achieved by, among other things, by meeting them in private or public, inviting them to their events, visiting them in their offices, raising awareness about their role and observing trials.

“Building the necessary trust with defenders will not happen overnight, but embassies and international agencies should continuously strive for it,” she said.

Lawlor also pointed to the lack of independence for the judiciary, which is “crucially important for a democratic society and for the rule of law” despite being “formally prescribed in the Constitution and other relevant legal instruments”.

“This has a direct impact on the ability of human rights defenders to receive a fair trial and to adequately represent clients,” the special rapporteur emphasized.

She also pointed out to the significant decrease of Tajik lawyers since the adoption of the Law of Lawyers in 2015 and the that some lawyers have been charged under article 307 of the Criminal Code for extremism-related offences.

“Once criminally charged, lawyers are no longer able to practice as attorneys, even if the charges are subsequently dropped and the persons are acquitted,” she said.

“The lack of sufficient amount of lawyers, compounded by the pressures exerted on them, especially those who are taking up cases of human rights defenders or persons accused of terrorism or extremism, in practice results in an environment where it is very difficult, and often impossible, to find attorneys ready to represent human rights defenders.”

Lawlor was also deeply troubled by apparent clampdown on dissenting voices, including those seen as not respectful, nor in accordance with the country values, traditions, and interests.

“My meetings during these past two weeks indicated that the crackdown on independent journalists working on human rights defenders started in 2016,” she deplored.

The special rapporteur revealed that within the past 6 months, some 20 journalists and bloggers have be reportedly arrested and detained.

Since 2015, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has imposed a climate of terror that facilitates the harassment of journalists and encourages them to censor themselves, as reported by Reportes sans Frontier.

“Journalists are only able to express themselves freely on online platforms such as YouTube but do so at risk of being persecuted,” the report said.

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