Human rights challenges in Tajikistan focus of meeting organized by OSCE Office

DUSHANBE, 12 September 2008 - Free and fair elections, violence against women, prevention of torture, access to prisons and forced labour were topics discussed at a two-day meeting organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan that concluded today in Dushanbe.

The meeting aimed to prepare participants for the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), to be held from 29 September to10 October in Warsaw.

"The first step toward effectively addressing Tajikistan's human rights challenges is to talk about them, to share information and to do so in a co-operative spirit among representatives of both civil society and the government," said Klaus Rasmussen, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan. "This meeting fosters that process."

The Dushanbe meeting brought together about 50 participants from civil society, as well as governmental and non-governmental bodies engaged in activities related to human rights, democratization and the rule of law. Participants made presentations and held discussions and debates.

The OSCE Office in Tajikistan sponsors the participation in the Warsaw HDIM for nearly two dozen representatives of civil society and government.