Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Dear Participants,    

On behalf of United Nations community in Turkmenistan, let me cordially congratulate the people and the Government of Turkmenistan with the 15th anniversary of Constitution of Turkmenistan. I would like to thank the Government of Turkmenistan for inviting me to participate in this conference, which addresses one of the most central issues to all countries, the Constitution and its importance as a permanent foundation of sovereignty and independence, as well as peace and security.   

Adoption of the Constitution of Turkmenistan in May 1992 has become a very important milestone in Turkmenistan's history and established solid grounds for its further development as an independent and sovereign nation state. Turkmenistan's constitution reflects universal human values contained in such internationally recognized documents as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights instruments. The constitution clearly states that the greatest value of the state is the people, which are "the possessors of the sovereignty of and are the only source of the governmental power of Turkmenistan."  

As we all know, constitution’s major role is to serve the people by offering a set of principles and rules which not only outlines the form of government, its judicial system and other political aspects, but also offers universal human rights and freedoms to be implicitly enjoyed by every citizen of the country and people as such. Just like the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitution of Turkmenistan starts with the words “we, the people…” If we think for a moment, these are actually very remarkable words, which indicate that constitution first and foremost implies the well-being, security and prosperity of people. It also implies equal chances for everyone, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity and faith.   

Today, as we discuss these important issues, we should bear in mind that constitution by itself does not always guarantee peace, stability and well-being of people. Nor it guarantees the respect for common human values. It needs the engagement of every individual, communities and governments, which should work hands in hands, everyday, to implement and enforce each article of the constitution. Therefore, since its adoption the constitution becomes a common endeavor that is meant to ensure human development, security and respect for human rights in parallel to each other.   

At the global level advancement of these three important pillars of humanity has been addressed in the UN Secretary General's 2005 report to the General Assembly entitled “In Larger Freedom”. UN Secretary General stressed that development, security and human rights should be advanced together at the same. Therefore, we cannot enjoy development without security; we cannot enjoy security without development; and we cannot enjoy either without respect for human rights.   Distinguished Participants, Fifteen years is a relatively short period of time in the historical context and Turkmenistan is a young independent country.   

The UN Agencies in Turkmenistan, and the wider UN community, stand ready to support and complement national efforts to implement universal human principles. Different UN agencies started working in Turkmenistan since early nineties and today United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as affiliated agencies such as the World Bank and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are present in Turkmenistan to support the government in implementation of measures aimed at ensuring constitutionally provided basic human rights and freedoms. These include the right for security, development, education, health and other basic rights indispensable for human dignity. Non-resident agencies such as OHCHR, UNESCO, UNEP, FAO and others also cooperate with us in these areas.     

In doing this, the United Nations Agencies are first of all guided by the principles of mutual respect and constructive cooperation for the well-being of all men and women in Turkmenistan.  Turkmenistan, as a member-state of the United Nations, is signatory to various UN human rights treaties and agreements and recognizes the importance of cooperating with international community. Indeed, the government has made good progress on reporting to the Treaty Bodies. Now is the time to focus on implementing the Treaty Body recommendations as contained in such instruments as for example the Concluding Observations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The UN, together with other international agencies stands ready to assist the government in these endeavours.  

The recent visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Turkmenistan, which has taken place on 3-5 May 2007, showed clearly that there are emerging opportunities to intensify cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United Nations system in various fields, including in the field of human rights. It was particularly emphasized during her mission that the future cooperation could be built on the current experience gained through the implementation of the existing joint UNDP-OHCHR project on ‘Building of Reporting Capacities in Turkmenistan.’ It was agreed that this project could be expanded to include such activities as preparation for special procedures, human rights education and trainings for the judiciary and law enforcement bodies. The new Regional Office of the High Commissioner to be established in Bishkek will be an important source of relevant technical assistance. In this context also, the invitation from the government to the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedoms has been particularly welcomed.    The High Commissioner much appreciated Turkmenistan’s openness to cooperate in the field of human rights and noted the recently announced reforms. The expanding of the right to quality education is particularly commendable since building human capital and civil society is fundamental for progress and development. Information and communication technology and access to internet for all citizens is very relevant to education and the UN looks forward to cooperating with the government in this area as well.   

The High Commissioner, among other issues, also addressed the importance of empowering civil society and providing it with democratic space for its activities, ensuring proper balance between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. She encouraged the Government to consider the establishment of an independent national human rights institution in conformity with international standards reflected in the ‘Paris Principles’. In summary, for implementing human rights, we need to work on all fronts at the same time: Civil and political rights Economic, social and cultural rights, and Institutional strengthening and capacity building The United Nations stands ready to assist Turkmenistan to meet these challenges building on our very good record of past cooperation. 

Finally, let me sincerely thank His Excellency the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and all our national partners for their continuous dedication and willingness to work with the United Nations. I would like to once more congratulate the people and government of Turkmenistan on this important occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Constitution.