OSCE and partners discuss implementing the Programme for Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Juvenile Offenders in Tajikistan

The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe (Office) organized a roundtable discussion on the implementation of the National Programme for Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Juvenile Offenders for 2020–2024 (Programme). The discussion took place in Dushanbe on 29 July. Fifteen representatives of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the NGO “Legal Initiative” and other civil society members took part.

Participants discussed ways partners could work together to effectively implement the Programme. They developed concrete recommendations to ensure that children are treated in a manner appropriate to their well-being. All issued recommendations were in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules).

In 2019, the Government of Tajikistan requested the Office to facilitate an analysis of the national legislation on compliance with international standards in the field of rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law, including those who have served their sentences. The same year, the OSCE supported the Government in developing the Programme and its Action plan, which was approved in June last year. Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection was appointed as the implementing body of this Programme, and the Office provides expert support on its implementation.

“This Programme provides legal and technical guidelines to help young people returning to society,” said Soima Mukhabbatova, Head of the Department on Social Policy of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

“It is important to implement an approved National Programme and follow the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), and the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe is ready to provide further support in this field,” said Robert Heuer, Head of Human Dimension Department of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.