The United Nations calls on the authorities of Central Asia’s nations not to violate human rights under the pretext of the fight against terrorism and militant extremism.
One of problems the Central Asian nations face is spread of extremism and radicalization of youth, Mr. Rastislav Vrbensky, Manager of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, said in an interview with UN Radio, noting that UNDP gives attention to that problem.
“In mid-July, we met with representatives of the Central Asian nations in Dushanbe to discuss how development can help prevent spread of militant extremism. It is very serious problem. We consider that one of the reasons for radicalization of youth is lack of economic opportunities, social isolation,” Mr. Vrbensky noted.
“We call [on the authorities of the Central Sian nations] not to use the fight against radicalism as a pretext to violate human rights. I hope these countries will realize that this way is not fit for the fight against extremism,” the manager of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub said.
He noted that the UN Secretary General and other representatives of the United Nations share that position.
Recall that the United Nationals Human Rights Council is currently considering the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review – Tajikistan
As it had been reported earlier, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Tajikistan was discussed at the UPR Working Group’s 25th session in Geneva on May 6 this year.
The NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan has reportedly presented recommendations aimed at strengthening torture prevention in Tajikistan to experts at the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights and to permanent diplomatic missions in Geneva.
On March 31, the NGO delegates from Tajikistan reportedly met with the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to discuss the NGO recommendations and future cooperation.
On April 1, the Coalition against Torture and other NGOs from Tajikistan delivered statements at the 13th round of UPR Pre-sessions, a public event organized by the Geneva-based NGO UPR Info at the International Conference Center of Geneva.
The NGO visit to Geneva took place in the framework of the EU-funded project, Action for Freedom from Torture in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, which is co-funded by Open Society Foundations.
The project is carried out by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR, Poland), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) and Nota Bene (Tajikistan).
