DUSHANBE, June 3, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik Ombudsman Zarif Alizoda has reportedly held a number of meetings in Brussels to discuss the human rights situation in Tajikistan.
“On June 2, Alizoda met with Ms. Iveta Grigule, the head of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Central Asia,” Aziz Soliyev, a spokesman for the Tajik Ombudsman’s Office, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, they discussed issues related to the current situation of human rights and freedom of religion in Tajikistan, extension of people’s access to legal aid, and cooperation with the European Union in the fields of human rights, including human rights in penitentiary institutions, as well as rights of migrants and their families.
The Delegation evolved from the previous delegation for relations with member nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which established a working group for Central Asia in 1993. In 1994, a delegation for relations with Central Asia and Mongolia was constituted. Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (PCCs) have taken place on a regular basis with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan since 2000 and with Tajikistan since 2010. The PCCs are a key element of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) which came into force on July 1, 1999 and with Tajikistan on January 1, 2010 and provide the framework for the relationship between the EU and the four countries.
On the same day, Alizoda met in Brussels with Mr. Peter Burian, the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia. They reportedly exchanged views on cooperation between Tajikistan and the European Union in the field of human rights.
Alizoda ad Burian also discussed the development of the process of democratization and civil society in Tajikistan and the European Union’s support for development and strengthening of the ombudsman institution in Tajikistan.
Tajikistan’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Ambassador Rustamjon Soliyev, attended the meetings.
