The Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan’s published 2024 annual report. The office of the Ombudsman in Turkmenistan, established by a law in 2016, serves as an authorized representative on human rights to ensure state protection of human and civil rights by state authorities and officials.
While the Office received 538 appeals (382 written, 156 oral) over the year, only 22 led to satisfactory resolutions. Meanwhile, 140 written appeals were given recommendations, and 19 written and 91 oral appeals were left without review often due to missing information or signature, expired deadlines, or being outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
Compared to 2023 the number of written appeals decreased by 17 (4.26%), and oral appeals decreased by 7 (4.29%), allegedly because some issues are resolved positively on the ground.
As of August 20, 2025, the report has not been published and shared with the public in the state and pro-governmental media.
The Office created three new departments: Protection of Human Rights in Public Authorities and Local Governments, Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights, Protection of Human Rights in the Private Sector. No information has been provided on the mandate, mechanisms and work of the new departments.
Most Common Complaint Categories and Examples
Major complaints from citizens were related to housing issues, dissatisfaction with law enforcement, court decisions and official misconduct. Most appeals were submitted from Ashgabat (27.5%), Dashoguz (23.03%) and Mary (17.8%). Visits to two prisons revealed shortages of doctors and visits to two nursing homes revealed lack of water and food. However, the report did not mention receiving any complaints related to corruption cases, Internet blockade, domestic violence or gender-based violence cases, although these are some of the persistent challenges faced by the population.
There is no description of the complaint and response mechanism at the Office of the Ombudsman. In 2024, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) noted in its report that the Ombudsman has not adequately responded to credible allegations of serious human rights violations, raising doubts about its ability to protect human rights effectively in Turkmenistan.
Below are two examples of appeals submitted by Turkmen citizens:
- Sexual violence: A resident of Dashoguz velayat filed a complaint about the failure to prosecute a man who raped his daughter. Following the incident, the daughter died by suicide. Although a criminal case was opened, charges were filed, and the suspect was detained, investigative actions were still ongoing at the time of this report.
- Financial forgery: In Mary velayat, residents raised concerns about delays in a criminal case against the director and deputy of School No. 20, accused of falsifying teaching records and extorting money from staff. In early 2024, they reportedly forged documents claiming a Russian language teacher taught 12 hours of lessons and took 2,707 manat from her, along with payments from other teachers. Despite this, the case was dropped, and both officials resigned at their own request
While the Ombudsperson’s office has expanded and received hundreds of complaints, resolution rates remain low, with many cases left unaddressed or met with vague recommendations. At the same time, serious issues such as corruption, internet restrictions, and gender-based violence are either absent from the report or avoided altogether, raising questions about whether citizens feel safe reporting them or whether such complaints are being deliberately excluded.
