The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Right and Prosperity have published joint observations ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Tajikistan, scheduled for the 53rd session of the UPR Working Group in November 2026.
The observations address gender-based violence (GBV) and access to justice for women survivors, drawing on findings from the ICJ report Nowhere to Go: Access to Justice for Women Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Tajikistan (December 2025) and an ICJ mission to Tajikistan in September 2024.
The observations identify persistent structural barriers, harmful practices, and systemic failures in the justice system that leave survivors of GBV without adequate protection or remedy. Despite formal legal commitments to equality, patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes remain deeply entrenched, particularly in rural areas where 70 per cent of the population resides.
Early marriage remains widespread, while polygamous marriages have increased despite being criminalised. Several forms and expressions of GBV, including domestic violence, marital rape, sexual harassment, and online violence, are not explicitly criminalised under Tajik law.
The observations further identify systemic underrepresentation of women in the judiciary and police force, a pervasive institutional culture in which GBV cases are resolved through informal “reconciliation” rather than prosecution, and the exclusion of GBV survivors from categories eligible for State-funded legal aid.
The ICJ and Right and Prosperity call on the UN Human Rights Council and States participating in the review to recommend that Tajikistan, among other measures, explicitly criminalise domestic violence and marital rape, adopt a consent-based definition of rape, remove discriminatory terminology from the Criminal Code, ensure that all forms of GBV fall under State-led public prosecution, amend the Legal Aid Law to include GBV survivors among those eligible for free legal assistance, and guarantee a safe and enabling environment for civil society and lawyers working on GBV.
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Joint ICJ and Right and Prosperity observations ahead of the Universal Periodic Review of Tajikistan (April 2026) UPR-TAJIKISTAN-April-2026-FINAL
ICJ, Nowhere to Go: Access to Justice for Women Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Tajikistan (December 2025)
