Ashgabat, 2 October 2009 – The opening ceremony of the first joint project of the EC/UNDP/OHCHR was held at the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan. The ceremony was opened by Ms. Shirin Akhmedova, Director of the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. Opening remarks were also made by Mr. Richard Young, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, Mr. Dirk Meganck, Director for Asia and Central Asia of EuropeAid- European Commission’s Cooperation Aid, and Ms. Margaret Nicholson, Chief of the Europe and Central Asia Section of OHCHR Geneva. 

The members of the Turkmen Interdepartmental Commission for monitoring the implementation of the international human rights instruments and its Working Group as well as representatives of embassies and international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan were also present. 

This is the first large scale partnership between the European Commission (EC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Turkmenistan. The European Commission has allocated two million Euro for the implementation of this project which will run for three years. The project is implemented jointly by the UNDP in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Turkmen National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan. 

The overall objective of this project is to enhance the Government of Turkmenistan’s ability and capacity to fulfill its international obligations. In addition, this project aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of human rights of the people living in Turkmenistan. It is expected that the project will serve to strengthen institutional mechanisms for monitoring the human rights situation in Turkmenistan leading to the development of a national human rights action plan.  

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Francesco Buscaglia, EC Project Manager
Ms. Irina Liczek, EC/UNDP/OHCHR Chief Technical Specialist