Turkmenistan is drawing up a national report on implementation of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified in 1999, the Turkmen State News Service informs.

This issue was discussed at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group experts of the Turkmenistan Committee to ensure compliance with international commitments in the field of human rights. The meeting agenda included presentation of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President together with the UN Development Program – (UNDP). The discussion was attended by the representatives of the migration service, legal profession and local authorities.

An interministerial committee was established on the initiative of President, Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov in 2007 as a standing advisory body. It was authorized to work up national reports on implementation of the UN Conventions on human rights, present them to the bodies listed in the treaty, work up proposals on legislative and institutional constraints in the context of implementation of international standards.