(Geneva, November 10, 2026) – United Nations members urged Tajikistan during its periodic United Nations peer review on November 5, 2026, to take urgent action to protect human rights in the country and end repression against government opponents.

Member countries called for the release of journalists, lawyers and civil society activists from unlawful detention, for freedom of speech, for action to tackle gender-based violence, and for accountability for violent crackdowns in the country’s Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region.

“Tajikistan has openly flouted United Nations peer review recommendations to the detriment of its people’s human rights and freedoms,” said Hugh Williamson , Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.…