The little girl’s name is Melek (name changed) who lost her mother at birth -  her father got into deep depression,  taking care of older child and his sick mother, working to sustain the family and having no additional support to provide proper care for the newborn. As we many in such a situation, Melek’s father placed her in the Baby home with a promise to visit and take back when she reaches the age of three.  The new specialized service for reintegration of children from Baby houses in Lebap region helped her family to reconnect, strengthen their bonds and reunite going through a complex process of reintegration. When the representative of the specialized service approached the Baby Home with a proposal to support children in reintegration to their families, Melek just turned one. The team of social work specialist and a psychologist worked with the father, mobilizing resources of extended family and preparing the reintegration plan. At the same time there was intensive work on building parental competencies and re-establishing healthy attachment between Melek and her father, sister, and grandmother.  “When my wife deceased, I thought that keeping the newborn in the Baby house with full care from professionals is best for my baby. However, social worker explained about importance of family environment for healthy development of my child, and when I made this decision of bringing her back home, I didn’t expect that I would get so much support from my mother and sister for caring about my baby”, added Melek’s father.  His mother died shortly after, and her last wish for her children was to support Melek in coming back home. Melek joined the family at the age of one year and one month. She stays at her aunt’s house, who is taking good care of her, while her father is at work. Her older sister comes to play with her and they have big weekend plans to have father – daughter time with her sister. The work is in progress and social work specialist continue to provide complex support to the family, further building the parental competencies, supporting in reintegration of Melek in the community, and keeping up the family’s motivation for this change, ensuring that Melek never loses her family again. This is one of the many success stories that I have witnessed during my trip to the region. It is gratifying that with the support of the UN Country Team in Turkmenistan, the Government is expanding and modernizing its range of social services, having introduced the concept of social work and developed a national model of inclusive social services at the local level within the first ever Joint Programme on community-based social services. It all started in 2020 when the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population recruited 45 state-funded social workers who, after appropriate training in the theory and practice of social work, started providing services in twenty etraps in Ashgabat and five velayats around Turkmenistan. Since then, the government has adopted the Law on Social Services and developed the regulatory by-laws to support the reformed community-based social services in the country.  The Joint Programme has introduced inclusive, quality social services at local level. Adapted to delivery in the context of the pandemic, it supports socially excluded and low-income households to be more resilient in the face of the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.  Here is another case, shared by another social work specialist:  “Her husband died, she never worked before, she had to return to her parents with her child, but she didn’t want to. We helped her to put her child into the kindergarten and to find a work in a canteen. Several months later she found a better place to work and now she works as Chef’s assistant in the local restaurant. She is now independent and can raise her only child herself. She often comes to our center just to share her news”. Building rapport both with service users and different service providers helps social workers be more efficient in their work. Despite short period of their work, new social workers proved themselves to be successful in implementing their responsibilities. They gained much recognition by government agencies and CSOs involved in social service provision. “It took a while for us to develop necessary skills and now most of my colleagues are building bridges between different agencies and social service providers so that beneficiaries would have an opportunity to use all available resources in their communities,” said Mergen Sahetliyev, social work specialist.  Social work specialists have reached out to around 5000 people working over 1000 cases that include people in need of all ages and with all types of disabilities. In 85% of cases, families received one or more pensions or allowances, and yet additional support was needed. Social work specialists have conducted needs assessments of vulnerable groups, developed individual support plans together with beneficiaries and started to provide professional support at community level. “We have to love our work to be able to help people”, noted Lola Hydyrova from Farab district, one of 45 new social work specialists. She was new in this profession. She benefited from series of capacity building workshops on foundations of social work and social services together with 106 social work managers, 67 representatives of governmental and non-governmental social service providers, and 79 representatives of allied workforce. Thus, the foundation was set to pilot new community-based and specialized social services that include services for families with children with disability. I heard these stories from social workers during my recent visit to Turkmenabat, Lebap region. I am glad that within this Joint Programme we provide support to all vulnerable groups including children at risk of separation from parents, children without parental care, children with disabilities, youth at risk, women experiencing gender-based violence, adults with disabilities, older persons living alone, and others in need of support with basic everyday care. It is important that they have access to quality, community-based social services provided by professional social workers and qualified social service providers to address their individual needs and ensure their social inclusion. By saying social inclusion, we strive to ensure equal opportunities for all and that everyone, regardless of their background, can achieve their full potential in life. The Joint Programme partners have developed a model of social services that will ensure that those in vulnerable groups gain access to the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social, and cultural life.  The Joint Programme on community-based social services was launched by the Government of Turkmenistan and UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC and funded by the Joint SDG Fund in 2020, whose donors are member states of the United Nations, the European Union, international agencies, the private sector and individuals. You can find more information on the results and achievements of the Joint Progamme implementation here. *** To ensure sustainability of the Joint Programme results, the draft National Social Services Development Plan (NSSDP) - a strategic roadmap until 2030, was developed and proposed to the government. It also laid the ground for the Phase II Joint programme development with anticipated government co-financing and as a result received funding from the Joint SDG Fund Development Emergency Modality that will scale up of the community based social services to every district of the country.

International Organization for Migration in Turkmenistan (IOM) in partnership with the Eurasia Foundation (EF), within the framework of the Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) program, and with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), held a round table entitled "Financial sustainability as a factor in the successful activities of public organizations” in Ashgabat with the participation of 32 representatives from public and state organizations of Turkmenistan. Public organizations and associations, the Mejlis, the Ministry of Justice, the Institute of State, Law and Democracy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Ministry of Economy and Finance discussed issues of favorable conditions that contribute to strengthening the potential of public organizations. During the discussion, the acceptable sources and mechanisms for maintaining the financial stability of public organizations and for the activities were considered. The experts from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan shared their countries' experience in financing social projects from various sources, including a state social order and social entrepreneurship. The participants of the meeting noted that the achievement of financial sustainability of public organizations strengthens the ability of organizations to work within the framework of long-term plan, consistently carry out the missions and manage the development. Financial sustainability is an integral part of organizational capacity, allowing organizations to be effective in their activities and better meet the needs of their target groups. Diversifying sources of funding, introducing new models, and reducing reliance on donors’ support and build a secure resource base, which in turn provides the required organization’s sustainability. It was stated that the diversification of financial resources for public organizations can be achieved in various ways, such as improving the legislative framework, considering the mechanisms of social order for the services of public organizations as a successful practice in other countries, also considering the possibility of introducing a system of benefits for certain types of activities, expanding the range of services and carrying out income-generating activities. In her opening remarks, USAID Country Representative to Turkmenistan Nino Nadiradze noted: “Public organizations are an important part of a society, where people can advocate for personal and public rights and interests. Their existence proves the importance of public opinion and the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process to maintain democracy and to ensure the principles of openness and transparency.” Azat Atajanov, Head of the IOM Office in Turkmenistan, welcoming the participants, said that “public organizations help the governments of countries to disseminate information about the SDGs and contribute to the implementation of the SDGs through the implementation of socially oriented projects. Civil society institutions, which are public organizations, play a key role in monitoring the implementation of the SDGs, and in many countries, along with the state report on the implementation of the SDGs, public activists prepare their own alternative report. I really hope that our event, which aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the state and public sector, will lay the foundation for long-term strategic processes that make a significant and practical contribution to the development of our Motherland - Turkmenistan.” Baily Seyilov, a member of the Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms of the Milli Gengesh (Parliament) of Turkmenistan, noted that “the right of citizens to form associations is guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan. The constitutional right of citizens to create public associations is implemented by the Laws of Turkmenistan “On Public Associations”, which is the legal basis for the creation and organization of the activities of public associations in the country”. Gulya Choreklieva, chairwoman of the public organization Enme, spoke about the experience of providing social services within the framework of a joint program of several UN agencies. She emphasized that “today, an important issue was discussed for both the public and the state sectors, because the issues of financial sustainability do not stand separately and must be solved jointly. Public organizations alone will not be able to overcome many issues, and particularly in case of financial sustainability need to use the principles of social partnership. This is transparency, validity, and social responsibility. The state supports us, and together we need to think over a mechanism that would work and bring its results.” Lyalya Berdyklycheva, chief specialist of the Department of Methodology of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan, added that the round table was well organized. In addition, she noted rich content and the opportunity to get acquainted with international experience in ensuring the active work of public associations. "I was also pleased with the activity of the participants, demonstrated during the discussion of issues in the working groups."

Most companies are becoming more accommodating to the growing global demand for low-cost goods and even cheaper services. And as we well know, demand creates supply. All this, in the end, can lead to situations related to exploitation. To exchange opinions and find best solution for the private sector engagement into the fight against human trafficking, the UNODC together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Safe Migration in Central Asia programme in Turkmenistan conducted a workshop on “Best practices on prevention of trafficking in persons in private sector and supply chains and importance of compliance with social, corporate and labor standards in private sector and its impact on export”. Over 29 representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan, “Turkmenstandartlary” Main State Service, as well as representatives of private companies in the field of consultancy, agriculture and construction discussed the implementation of the policies on TIP prevention, labour norms and human rights. Participants learned international and regional experience and practices, and shared examples of successful and innovative approaches to prevent labor violations regionally and globally. Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser for Central Asia on Countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, familiarized the participants with the promising practices of public-private partnerships to prevent and counter Trafficking in Persons. Ms. Saara Haapasaari, an international Corporate and Social Responsibility expert, presented the Due Diligence Manual for Companies developed by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) in Helsinki, Finland, the Center for the Study of Democracy from Bulgaria, the University of Tartu from Estonia and the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia. The representative of the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan presented the Norms of national labor legislation and the importance of their observance to prevent the situations of forced labor and TIP. The workshop participants came into conclusion that the private sector plays a key role in combating trafficking in persons, along with government and public organizations. They agreed that a holistic, coordinated and multilateral effort that encompasses all regions and industries is required to fight this crime. As the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its complementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, UNODC supports the Government of Turkmenistan in strengthening its efforts to combat trafficking in persons. The workshop was a part of the joint initiative of UNODC and USAID “Safe Migration in Central Asia” programme  aimed at improvement of existing legislation in the field of combating trafficking in persons and finalization of the Standard Operating Procedures for relevant departments and organizations to effectively operate the Referral Mechanism in Turkmenistan.

However, this crime is widespread and thrives particularly in situations where the rule of law is weak and criminal justice systems ineffective. “Most countries, including Turkmenistan, already have the necessary anti-trafficking laws in place, but their continuous improvement and alignment with the provisions of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime are of fundamental importance in identifying victims and ensuring that they have access to the protection and services they need, and in bringing transnational criminal groups to justice”, said Mr. Koen Marquering, International Programme Coordinator at UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia. UNODC in 2018 conducted a Legal Analysis of the Turkmenistan Legislation on countering trafficking in personsThe recommendations from this analysis were discussed during the second workshop on Strengthening national policies on trafficking in persons”  held on 26 to 27 May in Turkmenistan. The workshop engaged 21 experts in the field representing the Government and NGOs of Turkmenistan who were introduced to latest developments in legislation reforms in the area of countering trafficking in persons in EU and CIS countries. Along with UNODC-developed Legal Analysis, the proposals prepared by international and national experts to improve Turkmen legislation and the possibility to adapt and integrate the provided recommendations into relevant laws and decrees were carefully reviewed. National and international experts shared best practices on the development of victim identification and support policy and procedures, and sources of funding for national referral mechanisms, with a particular focus on a victim-centered approach that could be applicable to the Turkmenistan context. The participants were familiarized with the experience of Uzbekistan on Reform of countering trafficking in persons Legislation in Practice: Standard Operating Procedures for National Referral Mechanisms; Sources of funding for the National referral mechanism and Best Practices of Collaboration between State Agencies and the Civil Sector in countering TIP; and experience of Kazakhstan in strengthening state and CSOs cooperation in their efforts to prevent Trafficking in Persons. “It is very important to understand that the fight against human trafficking brings us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, the fight against organized crime and the elimination of forced labor, abuse, exploitation and violence against children. Fighting this global problem means building a society in which no one is left behind”, concluded Mr. Koen Marquering.