The Ombudsman's office hosted a meeting of the Authorized Representative for Human Rights in Turkmenistan, Ombudsman Y. Gurbannazarova, with the First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia Tamar Gvaramadze.

The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize with the experience of the central office of the Office of the People's Defender of Georgia, its departments and regional offices, as well as to discuss the agenda of bilateral cooperation. During the meeting, the Authorized Representative for Human Rights in Turkmenistan spoke about the activities of the Ombudsman's office and the reforms carried out in the country in the field of ensuring human rights and freedoms.

The parties appreciated the role of the Ombudsman's office as an independent institution in the further promotion of human rights in the country, stressed the importance of sharing best practices in the protection of human rights. Noting the fruitfulness of the friendly relations established between the two countries, the parties discussed the future of joint cooperation in the field of ensuring human rights and freedoms. During the visit to Turkmenistan, Tamar Gvaramadze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, together with Natalia Uteshova, an international consultant at OHCHR, participated in a seminar on "International practice of effective complaint mechanisms by national human rights institutions", held for representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan. The seminar heard presentations on the duties and functions of national human rights institutions, the complaint procedure in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Principles, investigative methods, and the complaint mechanism of the Institute of Public Defender in Georgia.

During the seminar, an overview of the working mechanism of the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan was made, discussion sessions were organized, where participants actively expressed their views and opinions on the development of proposals to strengthen the existing standard procedure. The event provided an opportunity for the staff of the Ombudsman's office to study the international experience of handling complaints by national human rights institutions in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Principles and to familiarize themselves with the rights related to non-discrimination.

Recall that in November 2023, the Turkmen delegation headed by the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan Y. Gurbannazarova paid a working visit to Georgia, where, at a meeting with the People's Defender of Georgia Levan Ioseliani, the possibilities of exchanging experience and improving the effectiveness of the work of the national human rights body were considered, as well as issues of cooperation and the agenda for the near future were discussed. The Turkmen side was familiarized in detail with the activities of the central department of the Office of the People's Defender of Georgia and its divisions.

During the visit, bilateral meetings were also held with the heads of the Special Investigative Service of Georgia, the Center for Human Rights and other relevant institutions.

Source: "Turkmenistan: The Golden Age"