The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is a central member of “Prove They Are Alive!” campaign, raising individual cases in the UN and providing information to their families.
-Act now
The message from the campaign and a group of more than 30 civic activists and relatives and friends of victims of enforced disappearances in Turkmen prisons, living in Turkmenistan is clear: It is time for the OSCE Participating States to Act! More than 50 international civil society organisations, Turkmen activists and family members of the disappeared living abroad support the appeal.
March 2018 marks 15 years since the release of the Moscow Mechanism report on Turkmenistan. This strongest possible OSCE reaction to human dimension crises followed an alleged coup-d’état, mass arrests, torture, unfair trials and people disappearing behind bars.
New wave
In 2016 a new wave of enforced disappearances started. Despite international pressure, the Turkmen authorities have avoided taking any real steps to end the gross violation of human rights.
In a press release today, the organisations urge international community to adopt a new strategy with more resolute and proactive means, while also presenting an Appeal from the Turkmen public on the disappeared This includes conditionalities in economic cooperation agreements and the activation of existing political and legal mechanisms of reaction to human rights crises such as the OSCE Vienna and Moscow mechanisms.
Read the joint statement on the disappeared prisoners in Turkmenistan.
Read the Appeal from the Turkmen public on the disappeared prisoners in Turkmenistan.