Tajikistan: Questions Over Ombudsman's Independence
Human rights watchdog is supposed to be independent but is appointed by the president.
Tajikistan: Questions Over Ombudsman's Independence
Human rights watchdog is supposed to be independent but is appointed by the president.
After President Imomali Rahmon appointed Zarif Alizoda, until now his adviser on legal affairs, to the post of ombudsman, the lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament approved the decision on May 27.
The law underpinning the post was passed in February 2008, and the creation of the new institution has been seen as a response to pressure from international bodies like the United Nations and the OSCE. (See Fears For Independence of Tajik Ombudsman, RCA No. 532, 15-Feb-08.)
“For the West…. the creation of the institution of ombudsman is one of the indicators that the republic is focused on democratic values,” said political scientist Rashid Abdullo. “Countries like that will get all sorts of support.”
The law states that the ombudsman is independent and does not answer to any state institution, even the president. He or she also has immunity from arrest and prosecution.
The incumbent stays in the post for five years, and can only hold it once. He or she is required to report on his activities and on the state of human rights in Tajikistan on an annual basis.
The ombudsman will look at cases of alleged human rights violations brought by individuals after all judicial mechanisms have been exhausted. Under the law, state officials are obliged to respond to questions from the ombudsman.
Very often cases will involve abuses allegedly committed by state officials such as the police. This will inevitably result in confrontations between the ombudsman and the state.
The fact that the ombudsman will be appointed by the president raises questions about how candidates will be selected, and how much they will identify themselves with the interests of the state rather than those of the public, whom they are supposed to represent.
Central Asia offers two possible models for Tajikistan – that of Uzbekistan, where the ombudsman’s office is effectively an arm of the state whose public role is seen by many observers as no more than window-dressing for the government’s poor human rights record; and contrasting Kyrgyzstan, where the ombudsman has produced damning reports on the actions of police and other agencies.
For legal expert Shams Gulmamadov, the fact that the appointment is in the president’s gift is a problem.
The ombudsman, he fears, “will be controlled by state institutions. He is not going to be able to be totally independent, which is what we would expect of him.”
As a result, he says, “even though the ombudsman has broad powers and the right to visit any institution, the question remains whether his inspections will be selective”.
Abdullo says the reality that the president dominates political life in Tajikistan means the ombudsman is inevitably going to be more of a go-between than a strong independent figure.
“It’s very important that the human rights ombudsman is in a position to pick up on alarm-bells sounded in society and is then able to communicate this to the president,” he said.
Alizoda may have been hand-picked to play that kind of role.
“He has experience of [conducting a] positive dialogue between the authorities – various institutions including the president – and the opposition,” said Abdullo.
Alizoda, 47, is a lawyer by training who served as a top judge heading the constitutional court in 2003-06. He has also held posts in President Imomali Rahmon’s office, most recently as his legal adviser and personal representative in parliament.
He has also been a member of parliament, chairing its committee for constitutional law, legislation and human rights.
Crucially, he led the group which drafted the ombudsman law.
A number of other names came up when the post was in the making. Some were establishment figures like Prosecutor General Bobojon Bobokhonov and the deputy justice minister Gulchehra Sharipova. One possible outside candidate who was mentioned was Nigina Bahrieva, formerly head of the Republican Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law.
Abdughani Mamadazimov, who heads the National Association of Political Scientists, would have liked to see an independent figure from outside government appointed to this important post, but says, “The government has shown that it is not prepared to do this.”
At the same time, Mamadazimov concedes that Alizoda has a good reputation as a lawyer and his nomination was “not the worst”.
“He’s a flexible person, and he’ll be able to find a consensus between the state and civil society, something of no small importance for this job,” he said.
