UNODC, USAID/Winrock Support Roll Out of Education for Justice Initiative in Turkmenistan

Teachers and staff from various universities and schools, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Institute of International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ashgabat City administration gathered to discuss the roll out of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative in Turkmenistan. 

In partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, UNODC and the Winrock International/USAID project “Safe Migration in Central Asia” facilitated the meeting to present a range of teaching tools for young people to better understand some of the key issues surrounding crime, justice and the rule of law.

“It is important to promote the rule of law from an early age to create a safe and prosperous society for everyone, leaving no one behind”, said Mr. Koen Marquering, Manager of UNODC’s Criminal Justice Programme in Central Asia. “We welcome Turkmenistan’s interest to learn about the interactive educational materials we have available to develop life skills, prevent crime and build resilience among children and youth.”

The discussion focused on E4J tools dealing with specific forms of crime, such as trafficking in persons and cybercrime, based on interest expressed by the Ministry of Education and participating teachers. UNODC Training Coordinator, Ms. Indira Mukimova, gave an overview of available materials and methods to work with school children and students at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education.

“Our tools are interactive and very user friendly”, Ms. Mukimova noted. “They stimulate critical thinking, active listening and open communication and help foster specific values and key principles underpinning the rule of law, such as integrity, respect, fairness and gender equality”.

This meeting followed a previous event held discussion on 30 June 2021 where UNODC first presented the E4J initiative. Possible adaptation and integration of E4J materials in the curriculum of relevant institutions, such as the Institute of International Relations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International University for Humanities and Development, and specialized school №21 in Ashgabat, is under consideration.

According to Ms. Eleanora Valentine, Manager of the “Safe Migration in Central Asia” project: “We hope for further joint work with partners and the Government of Turkmenistan aimed at strengthening the education system, which will give the young people of Turkmenistan the opportunity to study the rule of law and prevention of global threats, such as terrorism, trafficking in persons and others. UNODC and USAID/Winrock look forward to long-term and systematic collaboration to integrate these issues into the curricula of universities and schools”.

Education for Justice (E4J) is a global UNODC initiative, which seeks to prevent crime and promote a culture of lawfulness through education activities. These activities help educators teach the next generation to better understand and address problems that can undermine the rule of law and encourage students to actively engage in their communities and future professions in this regard. E4J uses numerous interactive and innovative tools to facilitate the formation of basic concepts in thematic areas falling under UNODC’s mandate, including corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, terrorism, cybercrime, criminal justice and small arms trade.