Deputy Ambassador Ford welcomed the OSCE Programme Office in
Dushanbe's work on gender equality, border security, human
rights, media standards and sustainable growth. He confirmed
increased UK support for border management and urged continued
on-the-ground impact aligned with OSCE commitments.
"Thank you, Chair.
I warmly welcome Deputy Head Turcan to the
Permanent Council thank you for your report.I would
like to extend my personal thanks to you and your team for your
support and hospitality to my Ambassador during his
recent visit to Dushanbe, where he saw first-hand the work
you are doing across all three OSCE dimensions of
security.
I would like to highlight several areas of the Programme Office's
work that are of particular importance to the UK.
First, the Mission's efforts to promote gender equality
including work to support survivors of
domestic violence through Women's Resource Centres and
police capacity building. These centres provide vital shelter and
services, helping women escape cycles of abuse and rebuild their
lives. The UK remains strongly committed to addressing
gender-based violence.
Second, the Programme Office's role in fostering cross-border
cooperation and regional security. We are also pleased
to increase our support package to the Programme
Office and Border Management Staff College, both
of which continue to counter emerging threats,
including organised crime, terrorism financing, irregular
migration, and risks around emerging
technologies. The new UK-funded border security
project will focus on enhancing operational capability,
strengthening training and institutional capacity, and
improving gender gaps in front line border
management. The UK remains committed to working
with Tajikistan, its neighbours,
and OSCE institutions to address regional
challenges, including those stemming from Afghanistan.
Third, we commend the Mission's work in the human dimension,
particularly on penal reform and embedding human rights in
government training. And, particularly as the UK
is current co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, we
also strongly welcome efforts to strengthen media
standards.
Finally, we support Tajikistan's ambitions for sustainable
economic growth. Achieving this requires a stable, transparent
investment climate grounded in the rule of law.
We remain a strong supporter of your mandate. As
with all field missions we encourage continued focus
on delivering on-the-ground impact, closely aligned with
OSCE commitments, particularly of course in the
currently constrained resource environment.
Thank you."
