UN Human Rights Council Opaquely Closes Rights Complaint Against Tajikistan

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the opening of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, February 23, 2026. © 2026 Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP Photo

At the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), a closed meeting about human rights in Tajikistan curiously appeared on the agenda. Held in response to a complaint submitted under an opaque procedure of the Human Rights Council, there is no public information about the meeting, which only compounds the grave human rights situation in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan is among the most repressive states in Central Asia, with high numbers of journalists and public figures jailed for their opinions on government policies, hundreds of nongovernmental organizations closed, systematic repression of ethnic minorities in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast province, and the government actively engaged in transnational repression. Tajikistan has officially banned several political movements and parties as “extremist,” with members serving lengthy prison terms or hunted down wherever they flee.

The Pamiri ethnic minority in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast continuously faces severe, systematic repression. Following protests in May 2022, the security forces carried out mass arrests and used deadly force against peaceful protestors, leaving approximately 40 people dead. More than 200 residents were prosecuted behind closed doors and received long sentences, including at least 20 human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists who were critical of the government’s actions, such as journalist Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva and lawyer Manuchehr Kholiknazarov.

However, the Human Rights Council discontinued the complaint against Tajikistan on July 3, without any public discussion or outcome. The president of the council said the government had presented “measures and commitments” regarding the complaint but did not make them public, which is precisely part of the problem.

Secrecy is par for the course for this procedure. While up to 15,000 communications are apparently submitted each year, very little information is available about them. It is difficult to see any impact of closed-door discussions about an opaque and repressive state, when victims face severe repression and cannot participate in the procedure to share their testimony.

Human Rights Council members should convene a public discussion, with the participation of civil society and independent human rights monitors to follow up on the government’s “measures and commitments.” In Tajikistan, as elsewhere, transparency and inclusion are key to truly tackling grave rights abuses.