DUSHANBE, March 2, Asia-Plus – UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Ms. Asma Jahangir has interrupted her six-day visit to Tajikistan and left the country, a source at the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace-Building (UNTOP) said.
The source has not mentioned the reason just saying that Ms. Jahangir has left Tajikistan for family reasons. He added that Michael Winner, assistant of Asma Jahangir, is currently in the northern province of Sughd to continue work on monitoring the situation on observance of religion and belief rights of people.
We will recall that UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Ms. Asma Jahangir arrived in Dushanbe on February 26 for a six-day visit to assess the situation on observance of religion and belief rights of people in the country.
A source at the Tajik MFA said that during her stay in Tajikistan UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief had held talks with Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zaripov to discuss issues related to observance of human rights. In the course of the talks the two also touched upon issues related to a state of the Ismaili Muslims in Tajikistan and cooperation between the country’s government and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
According to the Tajik MFA, during four days Ms. Jahangir stayed in Tajikistan, she also familiarized herself with activity of the UN agencies active in Tajikistan, the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, as well as international and local NGOs operating in Dushanbe.
The source at the MFA added that Ms. Jahangir was also scheduled to visit the northern province of Sughd, in particular the Isfara district, to meet with local authorities and clerics.
The main purpose of the visit is for UN Special Rapporteur to monitor fulfillment by Tajikistan of its obligations on the 1981 Declaration on Religious Intolerance.
Asma Jahangir is expected to submit a report on her conclusions and recommendations based on the results of the visit to the Commission on Human Rights.
Work of UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief entails monitoring the situation worldwide. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief has to monitor the growing trends, or patterns, of violations, and point out the countries or regions where intolerance is increasing.
