In the wake of the constructive dialogue on Turkmenistan’s national periodic report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW),

UNFPA provided assistance in organizing the mock session on constructive dialogue with the members of the national delegation. Turkmenistan team will take part in the CEDAW constructive dialogue on the combined 3d and 4th national periodic report in October 2012.

At the mock session, UNFPA international consultant and CEDAW expert prepared the list of issues and questions with regard to the combined 3rd and 4th report of Turkmenistan under the Convention. Together with UNFPA staff acting as CEDAW experts, the mock session for the members of the national defense team was conducted, followed with debriefing and lessons learned sessions, where the CEDAW expert shared her recommendations for the better preparation of the national team.

Turkmenistan joined the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 and signed the Optional Protocol in 2009. UNFPA has provided support to the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights (NIDHR) of Turkmenistan on building the capacities on CEDAW reporting since 2008. The areas of support included preparation of the national periodic report, building the capacities of the state officials and national experts in the area of gender equality, engendering national legislation in light of CEDAW Concluding observations, building capacity of the public employees on the Convention, and raising awareness among population on the rights of women and woman empowerment.