Ashgabat, 22 April 2022: Introductory meeting to launch a five-stage exercise called the Capacity Assessment of the Ombudsperson’s Office in Turkmenistan was delivered in a hybrid format. Findings of the Capacity Assessment of the Ombudsperson`s Office in Turkmenistan will serve as a  base for the development of the Strategic Plan of the Ombudsperson`s Office in Turkmenistan.

The Capacity Assessment to be carried out by a special team formed under the Tripartite Partnership^[*]. The special team consists of the experts from the UNDP Regional Office, the UN OHCHR Regional Office, the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, and the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF).

At the Introductory meeting participants discussed Action Plan, Methodology, and Concept Note of the Capacity Assessment by providing examples of the conducted Capacity Assessments of the National Human Rights Institutions in the region. It is planned that the special team to conduct the Capacity Assessment of Ombudsperson`s Office in Turkmenistan will visit the country in October 2022 to meet with representatives of government agencies, organizations, public associations in Ashgabat city and velayats of Turkmenistan.

The Capacity Assessment is designed to enable Ombudsperson`s Office in Turkmenistan to develop and implement capacity building strategies and actions that will strengthen its ability to promote and protect human rights in Turkmenistan. In addition, conducting the Capacity Assessment of Ombudsperson`s Office in Turkmenistan and development of the Strategic Plan based on findings of the Capacity Assessment will have a positive impact on the process of considering the application of the Ombudsperson’s Office for accreditation in Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in 2023.

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The activities are organized in the framework of the project: "Strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ombudsperson’s Office of Turkmenistan" implemented jointly by the UNDP in Turkmenistan and the Office of Ombudsperson in Turkmenistan.

The Project aims to improve the system of protection, promotion, and implementation of human rights in Turkmenistan by reforming national legislation in accordance with the human rights international obligations of Turkmenistan and increasing the institutional capacity of the Ombudsperson’s Office.

* Tripartite Partnership was signed among the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), UNDP, and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2011 to amplify the potential of National Human Right Institutions.