Report by OSCE Head of Centre in Ashgabat: UK response, July 2024
Deputy Ambassador Deirdre Brown voices UK support for the OSCE Centre's work in Turkmenistan, especially on border management, environment, gender, and cybercrime.
Ambassador MacGregor, welcome back to the Permanent Council. I am struck again by the positive work you and your team have led.
As you know, the UK appreciates the work of the Centre in Ashgabat, engages closely with the Centre, and values our deepening partnership with Turkmenistan. This year, our former Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron visited Ashgabat and met Foreign Minister Meredov and President Berdimuhamedov, demonstrating UK-Turkmenistan cooperation. We look forward to this developing further, with a dialogue based on trust and partnership.
The UK welcomes the centre’s diverse and balanced portfolio of projects, with excellent cooperation with the host government. I would like to highlight four areas of the Centre’s work.
Firstly, work to promote gender equality and support those affected by domestic violence. The UK and the Centre have coordinated closely on this issue in recent years, and we hope that the Centre’s work developing understanding of gender-based violence continues in Turkmenistan. Women’s rights are a high priority for the UK and we particularly encourage work on transparent access to driving testing and licences for women.
Secondly, on border security and capability. The UK is committed to working with Turkmenistan, its neighbours and the OSCE to mitigate the challenges arising from Afghanistan.
Third, waste management legislation; environmental auditing; and promoting the UN Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. We note that President Berdimuhamedov committed Turkmenistan to the Global Methane Pledge. We encourage the Centre to look at how they could support the government’s implementation of the Pledge.
Finally, I would like to welcome the work of the Centre in addressing issues of cybercrime and terrorist financing. Adherence to international standards and improving our understanding of cybercrime is a key challenge.
On corporate issues, we were pleased to see for ourselves from your video that the renovated premises are now fully functional and we thank the Government of Turkmenistan for providing them. But it is important to underline again the negative impact the continued non-agreement of the Unified Budget is having on the work of OSCE field operations, as highlighted in this Report. It is vital that field missions are adequately financed.
Ambassador MacGregor, thank you again for presenting your report today.