Baroness Stern opened training centre for detention officials
Baroness Vivien Stern, member of the British Parliament’s House of Lords, has concluded her visit to Tajikistan.
![Baroness Stern and HM Ambassador Robin Ord-Smith](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/8001/s300_P1070415.jpg)
Baroness Stern and HM Ambassador Robin Ord-Smith
“This is my third visit to Tajikistan, and I am delighted to see the progress the Tajik government has made on prison reform” stated Baroness Stern.
In addition to her meetings, Baroness Stern also opened a new training centre for penal institution staff, funded by the British Embassy in Dushanbe, where detention officials can conduct training, organize workshops and exchange ideas, and visited a detention facility in Dushanbe at the invitation of Deputy Minister Sharipov.
As a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Stern sits on the British Parliament’s Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and previously served as a Secretary General of Penal Reform International from 1989 until 2006. Her interests are penal reform, criminal justice, human rights and international development; issues in line with Her Majesty’s Government’s ongoing work in Tajikistan.
In addition, Baroness Stern is President of the British-Tajik Society, which aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries. This visit reflects a strong desire to increase the interaction and communication between the parliaments of Tajikistan and the UK, and the deepening of the relationship between both governments.