The UN Child Rights Committee emphasizes issues requiring urgent attention and measures from the government of Turkmenistan.
The Committee’s concerns, as articulated in its concluding observations, highlight systemic issues within Turkmenistan that prevent the full realization of children’s rights. The Committee also provided specific recommendations related to each area of concern. Addressing these issues will require a commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and upholding human rights for all, not just children.
The UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) has issued its concluding observations on the combined fifth to sixth periodic reports of Turkmenistan on 19 September 2024. As a party to the Child Rights Convention Turkmenistan is required to undergo regular reviews by the Committee of 18 independent international experts on how it is implementing the Convention, its Optional Protocols, and the Committee’s previous recommendations to ensure the rights of children.
In its concluding observations the Committee identified several key areas where Turkmenistan needs to improve its fulfillment of children’s rights. The Committee emphasizes the following points as requiring urgent measures from the state party:
- Data Collection: The Committee is concerned that despite the national census conducted in 2022, data on the status of children’s rights remains largely unavailable, outdated, and insufficiently disaggregated.
- Freedom of Expression and Access to Information: The Committee raises concerns about the systematic restriction of children’s freedom of expression, despite legal guarantees. Traditional societal attitudes, a lack of independent media, and restrictions on online content, including the blocking of international websites, are cited as significant concerns. The Committee emphasizes that these limitations hinder children’s access to information and opportunities for learning and development.
- Children Deprived of a Family Environment: The Committee highlights the concerning trend of increasing institutionalization rates, particularly for children with disabilities. They express concern about insufficient support for children leaving these institutions and a lack of awareness regarding aftercare options. The Committee points out that poverty should not be the sole justification for separating children from their families.
- Left behind children of migrants: The Committee raised concern about the large number of children left without parental care due to labor migration of parents.
- Mental Health: The Committee expresses alarm at the suicide rates among children in Turkmenistan coupled with the lack of information and comprehensive data to understand and address this critical issue. The committee was also concerned about the persistent physical punishment experienced by children.
- Education and Inclusive Education: While noting progress in education, the Committee raises concerns about unequal access to kindergarten between urban and rural areas, insufficient resources for early childhood education, and a lack of comprehensive data on education access and quality. For children with disabilities, the Committee emphasizes the need for inclusive education and highlights the shortage of trained teachers and support staff in this area.
- Administration of Child Justice: The Committee expresses serious concern about the limited progress in establishing a child-justice system in Turkmenistan. They point to the absence of specialized courts or judges trained to handle cases involving children, the lack of diversion mechanisms, and limited access to community-based social services and reintegration programs as key concerns.
- Cooperation with Civil Society: The Committee expresses concern over restrictions imposed on civil society organizations, particularly those focused on children’s rights. The Committee criticizes the limitations on registration imposed by the 2020 Law “On Introducing Changes and Amendments into the Law of Turkmenistan on Public Associations” and urges the state party to lift these restrictions.
- Lack of Independent Monitoring: The Committee acknowledges efforts to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman but remains concerned about its limited resources, which hinder its ability to effectively fulfill its mandate.
