The 2017 OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights: Human Dimension Implementation Meeting; Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, 13 September 2017, 10:00 — 13:00

Subject: Ensuring equal enjoyment of rights and equal participation in political and public life

(Working session 4 (specifically selected topic): Ensuring equal enjoyment of rights and equal participation in political and public life.

Ravshan Temourian, Eurasian Dialoque, member of the Board, Montreal, Canada:

Good morning!

There is a difficult situation with human rights in Tajikistan. I would like to emphasize that there is a danger in terms, not only with human rights, this goes beyond the legal analysis and the human rights topics, it affects a wider spectrum.

When the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), as a part of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) played a huge and positive role, the ban of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan is illegal and this, the threat of instability not only to Tajikistan, but to the entire Central Asian region. When we discussing the prohibition of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, it is necessary to say that «General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan”, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997, which stopped the civil war in Tajikistan, was violated.

The IRPT has long maintained a centrist, moderate track. The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan is unique in the region as an Islamic movement participating peacefully in the political life of a secular state.

The United Tajik Opposition is no more, and the government after nearly 20 years of trying to participate in the system has dismantled the major component of the United Tajik Opposition — the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. The supposed states-guarantors of the Tajik peace accord as well as the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — have just been following passively as one side of the peace consolidated its position. Stance of main players – which officially called states-guarantors of the Tajik Peace Accord as Russian Federation and the U.S. in long way of eliminating the United Tajik Opposition from the system have been quite and sluggish. Almost a soul successful peace building operation in the history of the United Nations for two last decades and the nation which has at least 6 280 years of history have been forgotten and abandoned by the International community.

We think the International community, particularly; the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, guarantors of the Peace Tajik Accord should act according to «General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan”, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997 to restore and revive peace process in Tajikistan between the government of Tajikistan and an inheritor of the United Tajik Opposition – the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan.

The government of Tajikistan without political opposition parties and lack of clear approaches on religion policies faces different radical religious forces, as Daesh. The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan as a major component of the United Tajik Opposition is a moderate secular party, which can stop radical religious forces; it can become a barer to radicalization of new generations of Tajik youth. Otherwise, the future of Tajikistan remains bleak. With a weak and corrupted government forces it would not be able to defence people of Tajikistan from radical religious rebel groups, which are already in the boarder area with Afghanistan. Moreover, already 2,000 Tajik rebels with Daesh in Syria and Iraq, more than 350 Tajik radical militants in Afghanistan. Who can tell how many radical religious militants on sleepy status inside of Tajikistan and the region have been waiting for the time of “X”?

We do think the accusations of the parliamentarian party — the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan of terrorism require more serious proofs, more serious explanations than those presented by the Tajik authorities to the civil society of Tajikistan and also, at the international level.

«Eurasian Dialogue», the civil society, a group of lawyers, human rights defenders and political experts at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Conference recommend:

1. Time has come for the UN, the OSCE and the states-guarantors of the Tajik Peace Agreements to assist the Tajik government and moderate political opposition in seeking peaceful co-existence;
2. To allow international observers and lawyers to provide legal assistance to detainees and convicts of representatives of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, the former UTO and their lawyers and the other political groups in reviewing their cases;
3. We urge the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations draw attention to the situation of the supporters of former United Tajik Opposition, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and other opposition parties and movements.

Thank you very much for your attention.