PRAGUE -- The New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the Turkmen government to show the political will to improve human rights by carrying out the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in December.
Juliette de Rivero, a rights expert at HRW's Geneva office, told RFE/RL's Turkmen Service that although it has not been so long since Turkmen officials commited to adopting the recommendations, it has been long enough for implementation to have started.
De Rivero said Turkmenistan should be open for visits by UN special rapporteurs and other international experts.
She says that by allowing such people to come and observe the situation in Turkmenistan, the government would show its commitment to human rights reforms.