Overview of Human Rights in Tajikistan

Historically, Tajikistan’s human rights situation has never been good and recent years have showed no change. The national political situation is Tajikistan is continually marred by corruption, the denial of registration of opposition political parties, harassment of people opposed to the government, holding of political prisoners, and harassment of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Security forces in Tajikistan act with impunity. Threats, extortion, abuse of civilians, torture and abuse of detainees and coercion of confessions from suspects are all known abuses. Prison conditions are poor and in many instances life threatening. Violence, overcrowding, and abuse at the hands of guards are situations with which inmates must deal with daily. Prisoners are also often denied visits from family and defense counsel. International monitoring of prisons is restricted by the government as well. Other human rights abuses such as human trafficking, child labor, and forced labor are additional areas of concern to human rights organizations and the international community.  Finally, abuses such as government restrictions on freedoms of press, speech, and religion continue to undermine international human rights norms.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

122nd out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.