TURKMENISTAN'S NEW WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 001400 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SMIG SOCI KWMN TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN'S NEW WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND ANTI-TRAFFICKING LAWS: POSITIVE FRAMEWORKS, BUT LACKING IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS REF: ASHGABAT 1387 Classified By: Charge Richard E. Hoagland for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkmenistan's new laws on women's rights and trafficking-in-persons, published on December 19 and 20 (reftel),demonstrate a noteworthy desire to address these two problem issues, according to two locally based foreign legal experts. Nonetheless, the two laws contain some substantial gaps -- most notably, they lack implementing frameworks -- that will prevent either from being anything more than window dressing until additional legislation is passed. Both experts attribute the laws' shortcomings to a lack of capacity and limited legal understanding, rather than a lack of will to address these issues, and believe that international cooperation is essential if Turkmenistan is to get the next steps right. President Berdimuhamedov seems to agree and called for establishment of a new special commission and Law Institute to oversee improvement of Turkmenistan's laws, as well as greater cooperation with the international community. The environment seems increasingly receptive to new U.S. initiatives in this area, if funding is available. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) As noted reftel, Turkmenistan published two new laws on December 19 and 20: the "Law on State Guarantees of Equal Rights of Women" and the "Law on the Battle against Trafficking in Persons." Both were new pieces of legislation that have been on the drafting list for the Third Session of the Mejlis (Parliament) since 2005, and both were efforts to respond to pressure from the international community for legislation in these areas. Post will e-mail to the Turkmenistan desk officer English-language translations of both laws. A SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD ¶3. (C) A locally based ABA-CEELI representative and the Acting Human Dimension Officer from the OSCE Center in Ashgabat both concurred during separate meetings on December 26 that the two new pieces of legislation, particularly the trafficking-in-persons (TIP) law, are basically positive. Both experts agreed that, while Turkmenistan's authorities continue to deny publicly that TIP or discrimination against women are problems here, the fact that these laws exist constitutes a tacit admission that these issues could become problems -- and, as such, represents a significant step forward. Indeed, these two experts maintained (and local civic representatives and even some government officials privately have acknowledged),the laws, in fact, represent an effort to respond to areas where there already is a growing need for legislation -- and action. LAW ON EQUAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN: REITERATES LEGAL GUARANTEES OF EQUALITY ¶4. (SBU) According to the experts from ABA-CEELI and the OSCE Center, although the "Law on Equal Rights of Women" does not have any potentially problematic clauses, it represents more a statement of policies and principles that already exist in Turkmenistan's constitution and laws, rather than a document with groundbreaking new guarantees. The new law quotes constitutional guarantees of equal rights and freedoms in political, social-economic, cultural and other spheres of human activity. It reaffirms that women should have equal status with men in all spheres of life and society, and reiterates women's equality with men in family relations. It forbids discrimination against women and enumerates women's rights in the areas of family, work, education and health. The new law also lays out a definition of discrimination. TIP LAW: A "STRUCTURALLY SOUND" STEPPING STONE ¶5. (SBU) By contrast, the TIP law represents an effort to ASHGABAT 00001400 002 OF 003 break new ground, according to the OSCE Center official. Although the TIP concept was first mentioned in the highly problematic 2005 Law on Migration, it was never elaborated. The new law introduces a number of new legal concepts, including human trafficking, traffickers, exploitation, recruiting and TIP victims. It makes a move to incorporate some of the most basic international standards and states that the conditions of any international TIP-related treaties or agreements to which Turkmenistan accedes supercede local laws, states that TIP is illegal and broadly hints that the criminal law should be revised to explicitly include TIP activities. The new law also discusses the need to establish "specialized agencies" to assist victims, indicates that juvenile victims should be handled separately from adults, and assigns the responsibility for drafting the follow-on legislation on these agencies to the Cabinet of Ministers. ...BUT NEITHER LAW CAN STAND ALONE ¶6. (C) However, both experts agreed, the major shortcoming of both laws is that neither creates mechanisms for ensuring their implementation. For example, although the women's equality law defines discrimination, it does not lay out any sort of civil or criminal mechanism for addressing cases of discrimination. While the law says that women should have full equality with men in all spheres of life and society, it does not create an affirmative action mechanism to ensure that women are given equal opportunities. The law also does not directly address domestic violence. And, while the TIP law states that TIP is illegal, it does not explicitly criminalize such activities, nor does it lay out possible punishments. (It does, however, state that criminal cases related to TIP should be tried in closed court sessions.) It also makes no provision for guaranteeing victims' privacy or for witness protection. ¶7. (C) In short, the two experts concluded, both laws are stepping stones, but the government must follow through -- soon -- with additional legislation containing blueprints for implementation. And, these experts also agreed, it is better for the implementing mechanisms to be introduced through national legislation, rather than through a series of presidential decrees, a common practice here that, while allowing the Presidential Office to add teeth to these laws quickly, would nonetheless most likely offer a piecemeal approach to address the problem. NEXT STEP FOR DONORS: FOCUS ON GETTING FOLLOW-ON LEGISLATION RIGHT ¶8. (C) Neither expert was surprised at the shortcomings in the laws. They agreed that the lack of any other recent legislation clearly demonstrates that Turkmenistan's law-drafting bodies -- the Mejlis, the Ministry of Justice and even the Institute for Human Rights and Democracy -- are far out of their league in producing legislation up to international standards. Indeed, the ABA-CEELI representative noted, in working with government officials on law-related issues, she has found that they view law in a linear, rather than conceptual fashion. Thus, in drafting laws, officials focus only on the immediate task at hand, and do not also consider the need to change other, related codes as a necessary part of the process. This is further complicated by a band-aid approach to addressing legal holes. The result has been a plethora of frequently contradictory laws and presidential decrees, many of which in Turkmenistan's secretive environment have never even been published. At a minimum, the ABA-CEELI representative suggested, it will take a dedicated working group of local lawyers savvy in Turkmenistan's laws, as well as international legal advisors who are able to communicate the reasons for incorporation of certain legal principles to sort out what needs to be done and make necessary changes. Both experts also agreed that international assistance is ASHGABAT 00001400 003 OF 003 essential to ensure Turkmenistan's law drafters get the next step right. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: Over the past two weeks, President Berdimuhamedov has been calling on the Mejlis and the Ministry of Justice with increasing urgency to make progress on drafting new legislation up to international standards. Indeed, during a December 27 cabinet meeting, he noted that the lack of new laws was slowing down reform efforts. Perhaps after viewing the two new law drafts, the president seems to be beginning to get an inkling, though he still does not appear to have a full appreciation, of the challenges that Turkmenistan's law-drafters are facing. To his credit, the president has established a new Law Institute and a special commission for improving Turkmenistan's laws, and has renewed calls for Turkmenistan's law-drafting bodies to work closely with international organizations as they overhaul their country's legal base. Most importantly, ABA-CEELI has reported that law drafters, law departments in Turkmenistan's universities, and judicial bodies such as the Prosecutor General office seem more eager than ever for assistance. The environment seems to be increasingly receptive to new U.S. programs in this area, if funding is available. HOAGLAND