United Nations
General Assembly
A/RES/59/206
Distr.: General
11 March 2005
Fifty-ninth session
Agenda item 105 (c)
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2004
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/59/503/Add.3)]
59/206. Situation of human rights in Turkmenistan
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming that all States Members of the United Nations have the obligation
to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and the duty to
fulfil the obligations that they have undertaken under the various international
instruments in this field,
Recalling its resolution 58/194 of 22 December 2003,
1.
Welcomes:
(a) The limited increase in the ability of members of certain religious
minority groups, including members of the Bahá’i faith, the Baptist church, the Hare
Krishna movement and the Seventh Day Adventist church, to practise their religion;
(b) The release in June 2004 of a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses who had
made conscientious objections to undertaking military service, but notes with
concern that other Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to be jailed on the same charge;
(c) The comments of the Government of Turkmenistan in May 2004 that
interested representatives of the international community were welcome to visit
Turkmen prisons, and notes with satisfaction that the Government has begun
preliminary discussions with representatives of the International Committee of the
Red Cross regarding prison access;
(d) The fact that the Personal Envoy of the Chairman-in-Office of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for Participating States in
Central Asia, has been given the opportunity for further dialogue with the
Government of Turkmenistan, and expresses the hope that a constructive dialogue
on human rights issues is to be continued soon;
(e) The submission of the national report under the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1 to the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the recent submission of
the report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
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1
04-48862
Resolution 2106 A (XX), annex.