UN, OSCE Back Creation Of Tajik Human Rights Institution

(RFE/RL) PRAGUE, 22 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have started a two-day conference to discuss the establishment of an independent national human rights institution in Tajikistan.

The deputy head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, Andrei Shugurov, said a Tajik national human rights institution could become an effective mechanism to remedy "weaknesses" in the justice system.

Many countries have set up national human rights institutions. The functions of such institutions include monitoring human rights, investigating and documenting rights violations, and handling individual complaints.

The conference, which is being held in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, is being attended by 80 participants, including UN human rights experts and representatives from local and foreign nongovernmental organizations.