On Tuesday, the first special child-friendly room was opened in the police department of the Kopetdag etrap of Ashgabat city for investigative actions to strengthen protection measures for children who have become victims or witnesses of crimes.

The room was created jointly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan and UNICEF.

When creating a special room, international best practices were taken into account, which provides a safe and non-intimidating environment for children, the UNICEF press service reports.

The child-friendly room is equipped with a modern video and sound system, which will help avoid unnecessary re-interrogations, as well as contribute to obtaining more reliable evidence at the preliminary investigation stage. The introduction of information and communication technologies will strengthen the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of child victims and witnesses of crimes.

UNICEF is working closely with the MVDT to further ensure and protect the rights of all children in contact with the law, including child victims and witnesses of crime, in line with international standards and best practices in other countries. The opening of a special child-friendly interview room in the subdivision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is in line with the Law of Turkmenistan “On State Protection of Victims, Witnesses and Other Participants in Criminal Proceedings”.

It is planned to constantly increase the potential of investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the etrap level and develop methodological recommendations for working with cases of children in contact with the law.

“The trauma of children as a result of a crime can have the most serious consequences for them, having a significant impact on the process of growing up and development,” said Mohammad Fayazi, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan. - It is very important that at the stage of pre-trial proceedings comprehensive protection measures are provided for child victims and witnesses of crimes. This contributes to their speedy return to normal life.”

M. Fayazi noted that "to implement these measures, UNICEF is ready for further cooperation with all law enforcement agencies of Turkmenistan to ensure such measures."