OSCE seminar raises awareness about hate crimes in Turkmenistan

The OSCE approach to responding to hate crimes was presented at an OSCE-organized introductory online seminar that took place on 9 December 2022.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the event in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), to raise the participants’ awareness on hate crimes, the OSCE concept of hate crimes and relevant OSCE commitments.

The event brought together representatives of the lower chamber (Mejlis) of the Milli Gengesh (National Council), Ministry of Justice (Adalat), Ministry of Interior, Ministry of National Security, State Border Service, State Migration Service, Ombudsperson’s Office, Supreme Court, General Prosecutor`s Office and Bar Association.

ODIHR experts on hate crimes elaborated on ODIHR’s tools and capacity building programmes for assisting participating states in implementing their commitments in the area of hate crime. They provided insights into ODIHR’s annual hate crime reports and stressed the importance of national authorities’ role in preventing and addressing hate crimes.

“Hate crime not only affects the individual or group, it has a negative impact on society in general. Our today’s event aims to introduce the tools and resources to support and assist the local and governmental bodies in responding to hate crimes and ensuring effective access to justice, support and protection to victims of hate crimes,” said Rune Castberg, Programme Co-ordinator of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.