DUSHANBE, January 22, 2010, Asia-Plus — A roundtable meeting to discuss ways to stem an increase in the number of suicides in Central Asia is taking place in Qurghon Teppa, the capital of the Khatlon province today.
The meeting formally titled “Suicide in Khatlon: Ways of Solution of the Problem” is part of the project, Protection and Human Rights Education through Media in Central Asia, which is implemented by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) under financial support of the European Union. The event is organized by IWPR in cooperation with the public association, Payom.
According to the IWPR Dushanbe Office, the meeting has brought together representatives from the Khatlon police directorate, committee for family and women’s affairs, Tajik National Human Rights Institution, clerics as well as representatives of civil sector and media.
The meeting is expected to result in adoption of a number of recommendations for the government institutions, NGOs and media on the solution of the problem.
IWPR has already held similar meetings in the Sughd province and Gorno Badakhshan.
The main objective of these meetings is in discussing the problem with all interested sides and developing recommendations that could help reduce the suicide rate.
In the framework work of the Protection and Human Rights Education through Media in Central Asia Project, IWPR supports human rights activists in all Central Asia’s countries to develop efficient media strategies, raises their awareness and provides human rights information to the whole society. The project promotes sustainable partnership between media organizations, journalists and human rights community.
