A/HRC/55/51/Add.2 2. Legislative, institutional and policy frameworks 22. The Special Rapporteur acknowledged during his visit that the administration in Tajikistan has, in recent years, taken measures to advance human rights in the country, including the National Strategy on Human Rights of Tajikistan for the Period up to 2038, issued in August 2023. The document was developed by an interdepartmental working group in cooperation with civil society, taking into account international human rights standards, recommendations of United Nations sectoral structures and the Sustainable Development Goals. The associated Action Plan 2023–2025 contains a set of measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations human rights structures and other human rights documents. 23. More recent and relevant legislation for minorities is the Law on equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination of 2022, which contains such concepts as direct and indirect discrimination, sexual harassment and segregation on a discriminatory basis, provides for an individual right to raise claims of discrimination before judicial courts and other public bodies, such as the Human Rights Commissioner, whose role is to conduct activities to ensure compliance with the new law. On the positive side for minorities, the law contains the recognition that special and temporary measures can be adopted for members of ethnic, religious, national or linguistic minorities by the authorities in order to ensure their enjoyment of rights, as long as the measures are carried out for legitimate purposes and they are proportionate (art. 1 (3)). However, the law seems to prohibit only intentional forms of discrimination (art. 1 (1)), whereas international obligations are clear that discrimination can arise when individuals are excluded or disadvantaged because legislation, policy or practice has the purpose or effect of doing so.4 24. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that it is too soon to know how the new legislation will be implemented and interpreted. During the Special Rapporteur’s country visit, no cases were brought to his attention in which the law had been invoked for minorities. It is far from certain what the impact will be of the National Strategy on Human Rights and the associated Action Plan in a State that has been accused of repressive and even abusive behaviour since the end of its civil war, even if the measures are praiseworthy in setting out broad human rights measures and educational and awareness-raising activities for State officials. 25. Other legislative measures appear to be favourable for minorities. Ethnic and linguistic minorities appear to be entitled to the enjoyment of their cultures and the use of their languages as a medium of instruction. Article 6 of the Law on culture provides that members of all national and ethnic groups living in Tajikistan have the right to maintain, protect and develop their national cultures and to establish institutions, organizations, associations, societies and centres of their national cultures, while article 6 of the Law on education indicates that citizens of Tajikistan, regardless of nationality, race, sex, language, religion, political situation or social and property status, are guaranteed the right to education, with article 7 providing that the State guarantee to national minorities the accessibility of general education in the mother tongue in the territories in which they are concentrated. 26. Once again, the reality on the ground seems to contradict the principles enshrined in that and other legislation. From 2009 onward, beginning, in particular, with the Law on the State language of Tajikistan, more and more measures have emphasized the need to promote and use, sometimes to the exclusion of all other languages, the national Tajik language. While Russian has a unique status and is still widely used in many parts of the country and for various purposes, including in official State functions, other languages are by and large excluded, except for in certain aspects of education. Article 8 of the Law on the State language of Tajikistan provides rules for the implementation of teaching in the State language and in other languages by first indicating that education is provided in the State language, then adding, in paragraph 2, that preschool institutions, institutions of general, primary and secondary vocational, higher vocational education and postgraduate education may operate in other languages and that language choices in education are to be set out in legislation. Article 8 of the Law on the State language of Tajikistan is, however, permissive only in that 4 6 CERD/C/TJK/CO/12-13, para. 8. GE.24-00946