Authorities in Tajikistan Discuss the Linkages Between Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals

A two-day workshop “Applying human rights-based approach to development in the context of implementation of the Agenda 2030” was organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) Regional Office for Central Asia. The training took place in Varzob from 24-25 August 2022 in a hybrid format and included presentations and practical exercises.

The workshop aimed at increasing the understanding of human rights focal points from various state institutions on the human rights protection as a key precondition for development, and on the practical side - on how reporting on human rights and human rights-based approach to data can be used for reporting on implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Aziz Solehzoda, the Leading Specialist of the Department of the Human Rights Guarantees of the Executive Office of the President of Tajikistan underlined that “the implementation of SDGs and the realization of human rights are interconnected and reinforcing processes” Mr. Solehzoda also stressed the importance of human rights for securing investments into the country’s economy.

Mr. Pavlo Byalyk, Human Rights Advisor with the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan emphasized that a “Leave No One Behind” approach to development, which implies reaching out to and consulting with the most disadvantaged groups, is key for identifying development priority focus areas as well as the effective means to address them. “There can be no real progress in development, unless all people of Tajikistan, particularly the most excluded and marginalized groups, feel improvements in their lives”, he noted.

During the workshop, the participants learned about the international human rights mechanisms and their interaction with Tajikistan, discussed the structure and functioning of the Governmental Commission on Implementation of International Obligations in the field of Human Rights as a national human rights mechanism for reporting, implementation, and follow-up, as well as considered the ways of improving inter-agency coordination for preparing human rights reports.

The participants explored the links between the most recent recommendations Tajikistan received within the third cycle of the Universal Period Review with the SDG implementation and learned how to use the Universal Human Rights Index as an online tool for identifying thematic clusters of human rights recommendations and their relevance to SDGs.

Participants also were trained on applying a human rights-based approach to data and participated in a practical exercise on how to plan the implementation of the data-related human rights recommendations. In the context of Tajikistan’s expected engagement in the process of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) in 2023, participants also learned about the experience of other Central Asian states in applying human rights-based approach to the VNR reporting.

“We learned a lot during these two days about linkages between human rights and implementation of the 2030 Agenda”, said Ms. Odinazoda Mahtobbi, Deputy Chair of Social Development Department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. “It would be important to continue such discussions and focus them in the future on some selected SDGs”, she added.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the Department of Human Rights Guarantees of the Executive Office of the President of Tajikistan, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Supreme Court, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment,  State Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, Agency for State Financial Control and Combatting Corruption, Drug Control Agency under the President of Tajikistan, Committee on Women and Family Affairs, as well as the State Committee for National Security.