United Nations and Government of Turkmenistan discuss monitoring of Human Rights Commitments

The meeting organized by the UN Resident Coordinator’s office jointly with the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan and OHCHR as a technical lead from the UN side brought together key ministries, state agencies, including ministries of labour, education, justice, finance and economy, migration and statistics, as well as the Parliament (Mejlis), the Ombudsperson’s Office and law enforcement agencies,  and UN partners to explore methodologies for assessing progress on implementation of UPR recommendations supported by  Turkmenistan.

During the fourth UPR cycle in November 2023, Turkmenistan received 228 recommendations from UN Member States and expressed support for 146 of them, demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing human rights. Building on this commitment, the United Nations and the Government of Turkmenistan   included a dedicated UPR-related indicator in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2026–2030. This indicator will measure progress in the implementation of supported recommendations and, thus, requires setting a baseline and target. It was specially noted that Turkmenistan was the first country to include such indicator in the Cooperation Framework and, thus, presented a good practice of integrating Huma Right mechanisms in strategic cooperation documents of the United Nations with UN member states.

These consultations focused on identifying credible, evidence-based and consistent methodologies to assess the implementation status of these recommendations. Discussions also highlighted how such methodologies can support national planning, monitoring, and reporting processes on human rights.

The agenda included an overview of the UPR recommendations, presentations on relevant observations by the supervisory bodies of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and an initial exchange on possible approaches to establishing baseline and target values for the agreed indicator.

The participants emphasized the importance of coordinated action, reliable data, and inclusive approaches in tracking progress on human rights commitments. The outcomes of the meeting will inform the development of a robust framework for monitoring the implementation of UPR recommendations under the UNSDCF 2026–2030.

The United Nations remains committed to supporting Turkmenistan in strengthening national capacities for human rights implementation, monitoring and reporting, in line with international standards and the country’s development priorities.