From October 3 to 13 of the current year, a Capacity Assessment of the Ombudsperson’s Office of Turkmenistan was held by specially established commission.

The commission included the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF). These structures also acted as organizers of the assessment, conducted within the framework of the Global Principles for Assessing the Capacity of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).

The assessment was carried out with the aim to clarify the current strengths and capacity gaps of the Ombudsperson’s Office and to make a proposal on more effective implementation of the principles of human rights protection.

The Capacity Assessment team members consisted of representatives from the UNDP, OHCHR and the APF, including its member institution, the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia.

As part of the Assessment proçedure, the çommisiion memebrs held interviews with representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan, the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh, the Mejlis of the Milli Gengesh, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, law-enforcement agencies as well as representatives of local authorities of Ashgabat city and Ahal and Balkan regions.

The mandate and functioning of the Ombudsperson’s office were discussed and steps required for its strengthening over the next 3-5 years were outlined. A report on the assessment results and recommendations will be provided to the Ombudsperson’s Office for consideration.

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