April 17 2003

Turkmenistan came under heavy criticism of its human rights record in a resolution adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 15.

The resolution expressed grave concern at restrictions on the exercise of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, despite guarantees contained in the Constitution of Turkmenistan and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The resolution also mentioned the harassment and persecution of members of independent faith groups and the discriminatory use of the registration procedures for such groups.

It also called upon the Government of Turkmenistan to ensure full respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the freedoms of expression, religion, association and assembly and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities.

The representative of Turkmenistan reportedly claimed that the text was harshly worded and was based on "one-sided assessment and arbitrary interpretations of decisions taken by the Government and judicial bodies".

The vote was 23 in favour to 16 against with 14 abstentations.

CSW welcomes the adoption of the resolution and calls on the Turkmenistan government to adhere to international guarantees of religious freedom and other human rights.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "We welcome this resolution which draws attention to Turkmenistan's poor human rights and religious freedom record.

"We hope the resolution will encourage the Turkmen government to respond to the strong show of international concern regarding human rights in their country."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Turkmenistan has an authoritarian government ruled by President Saparmurat Niyazov, who has created a bizarre personality cult around himself. President Niyazov was declared president for life in December 1999 and has also adopted the title of 'Turkmenbashi' – 'Father of All Turkmen'. Citizens are required to recite a daily oath of allegiance to the President, which largely consist of threats to those who oppose the President. The media is government controlled and any opposition to the government is brutally crushed. Communication abroad is closely monitored.

Registration law:

Article 11 of the 1992 constitution guarantees religious freedom. However, in practice, the laws and practices of the government clearly violate freedom of religion. Religious communities, in particular Christian denominations, face harassment at the hands of the including fines, beatings, detention and expulsion, resulting from the arbitrary implementation of the registration laws.

The revised law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations, adopted in 1996, decrees that all religious groups must re-register and set a number of requirements for registration such as a minimum membership of 500 local worshippers. Religious groups are also required to submit a membership list as part of the registration process. This is subsequently used to monitor and harass the members. The Sunni Muslims and Orthodox Christians are the only faith groups granted legal registration. Even those faith groups meeting these virtually unattainable requirements have failed to gain official recognition.

So far, protests by foreign governments and international bodies concerning these serious human rights violations have been ignored by the Turkmen government.