Dushanbe, 14-15 October 2024, two one-day training sessions were held for civil society representatives on strengthening dialogue between the state and civil society through the development of a data collection system. Around 40 representatives of civil society participated. In 2024, declared the “Year of Legal Education” in Tajikistan, these trainings made an important contribution to improving legal awareness in the field of human rights.
Strengthening the capacity of civil society in human rights data collection is крайне important in light of existing challenges. Government authorities often do not trust or recognize data collected by civil society actors, and there are significant discrepancies between statistics presented by state institutions and those compiled by civil society. For the effective promotion of human rights, a transparent and sustainable data collection system is essential.
“Human rights defenders and civil society often face the absence of a unified data collection system and inconsistencies in indicators. The accessibility and transparency of any human rights data will help strengthen the protection and promotion of these rights in Tajikistan. We hope that this training will be the first step toward creating such a system and will enhance joint efforts to promote and protect human rights,” noted Gulchehra Kholmatova, Director of the public organization “World of Law,” in her opening remarks.
The event was organized within the framework of the projects “Path to Justice: Strengthening Human Rights through the Prevention of Torture and Reform of the Penitentiary System,” funded by the European Union, and “Promoting Human Rights and Accountability in Places of Detention in Tajikistan with a Gender Perspective: Research, Dialogue, and Awareness-Raising,” funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The programs are implemented by the public organization “World of Law” in partnership with the Dutch foundation “Perspectivity Challenge.”
