Emmanuel Macron Welcomed the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan at the World Congress in Paris
The Turkmen delegation participated in the 9th World Congress against the Death Penalty, held in Paris from June 30 to July 2. The large-scale forum was organized by the French association "Together Against the Death Penalty" with the support of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the French government.
Following the official opening, French President Emmanuel Macron personally greeted the heads of the delegations, including the Commissioner for Human Rights in Turkmenistan and Ombudsman Yazdursun Gurbannazarova, expressing gratitude to Ashgabat for its active participation in the forum. The Turkmen mission also included Khalygul Tuvakova, an expert at the Institute of State, Law, and Democracy, and Maksat Charyev, the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to France.
At the plenary sessions of the congress, international experts highlighted Turkmenistan's consistent humanitarian policy in protecting the human right to life. Our country made history as the first Central Asian state to completely abolish this form of punishment.
As a reminder, Ashgabat introduced a moratorium on the death penalty on January 6, 1999, and by December 28 of that year, it was finally abolished by law. This step laid a solid foundation for a modern national human rights protection system and continues to serve as an example for the entire region.
The Paris Forum, which brought together human rights defenders from around the world, demonstrated that Turkmenistan's historic choice, made more than a quarter of a century ago, is highly valued globally.
