Since Tajikistan’s independence, the United Nations has been its closest partner on the road to achieving sustainable development. As an independent state, Tajikistan joined the United Nations on March 2, 1992. In 1993, when the country was going through difficulties and hardships, the UN opened its office in Dushanbe.  

Since then, Tajikistan has begun to lay a solid foundation for the development of cooperation with the institutions, agencies and specialized organizations of the UN system. At present, the Republic of Tajikistan actively cooperates with the UN in various fields, including security and stability, combating contemporary threats and challenges to global and regional security, rule of law and human rights, sustainable economic development, environmental protection, sustainable social development, and water resources management. During the short historical period of membership in the UN, Tajikistan has passed certain stages of partnership with the United Nations.

 

In the beginning, there was peacemaking…

At the very beginning, due to the internal situation, the priority for Tajikistan was cooperation aimed at achieving peace and stability.

The first UN office – the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) was opened in Dushanbe on February 1, 1993. The UNMOT supported and promoted the peace process in Tajikistan, assisted in peacekeeping efforts and provided urgent humanitarian assistance.

That year also saw the launch of a UNHCR-led humanitarian mission to repatriate the country’s residents who had found temporary residence in northern Afghanistan.

The UN World Food Program, UNICEF, UNDP and UNHCR were among the first agencies that started their activities in Tajikistan during the civil strife, providing citizens with the necessary assistance. This year, these four UN agencies and programmes are also celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their productive activities in Tajikistan 

The main areas of cooperation during the difficult time were ensuring peace and post-conflict reconstruction of the country, providing extensive humanitarian assistance. Many families remember this with gratitude.

Tajikistan emphasizes the enormous contribution of the United Nations to the success and completion of the peace process.

In connection with the General Agreement on Establishing Peace and National Accord, which was reached in June 1997, the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (UNTOP) was established on the basis of UNMOT in May 2000 on the initiative of the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

In August 2007, the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace-building successfully completed its activities. Dozens of participants of this mission were honored with high awards of the Republic of Tajikistan. The Tajik model of national reconciliation with the assistance of the UN agencies and guarantor states became an example of preventive diplomacy for countries with internal conflicts. 

 

On the path of progress in relationships

In the early 2000-s, the United Nations supported Tajikistan’s initiatives on water, especially the declaration of 2003 as the Year of Fresh Water, initiatives to combat international terrorism and drug trafficking, and the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). During this period, Tajikistan was one of the first countries to assess the national needs to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), develop a National Development Strategy for the period from 2007 to 2015, and adopt a Poverty Reduction Strategy.

During that period, attention was focused on addressing serious environmental issues, including the risk of Lake Sarez breaching, the desiccation of the Aral Sea, access to drinking water, the effects of climate change and glacial melting.

Tajikistan promotes the following global water initiatives: proclamation of the International Decade of Action “Water for Life” (2005-2015), declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Water Diplomacy and Cooperation, establishment of an international mechanism for coordination of efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Aral Sea desiccation under the auspices of the United Nations.

Advancing water issues has become a major part of the strategic program for achieving the MDGs.

 

The era of initiatives and proposals

After 2010, Tajikistan continued its efforts on sustainable development in connection with the green economy, implementing the decisions of the global meeting in Rio de Janeiro, as well as participating in the development and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The global water initiatives include a proposal for a comprehensive review of the entire water use system in Central Asia under the auspices of the United Nations, the development of a Global Water Vision beyond 2016, the announcement of a new International Water Decade 2018-2028, and a Conference to assess the implementation of the Water Decade goals.

In 2017, the Government of Tajikistan, with the UN support, prepared its first Voluntary National Review Report; and in 2018, its first National SDG Report. These documents emphasize the Government’s commitment to strengthening human rights, gender equality and inclusive economic growth while respecting the principle of “leaving no one behind”.

The UN in Tajikistan has expanded areas of cooperation and improved performance in achieving results through joint programs in areas such as financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), migration, strengthening the health system, preventing violence against women, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and empowering youth.

Only in the period from 2005 to 2022, the UN agencies provided Tajikistan with development assistance worth more than 1 billion USD. During this period, Tajikistan also took a leading role in promoting and adopting the International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028.

High-level International Water Conferences organized by the Government of Tajikistan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands together with the UN were held in Dushanbe in 2022 and in New York in March 2023.

In fact, these initiatives put water issues at the center of the Global Development Agenda. At the end of 2022, at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, a UN General Assembly Resolution was adopted, which declared 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Conservation, proclaimed the International Glacier Day and became a platform for the establishment of the international Glacier Protection Fund.

Tajikistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change in the region. This year saw the launch of the UN Secretary-General’s initiative of Early Warning for All, which aims to ensure that by 2027, early warning systems protect everyone on Earth from various extreme events.

 

From development assistance to development cooperation

In 2023, the UN agencies and the Government of Tajikistan launched the UN-Tajikistan Framework for Cooperation on Sustainable Development for the period from 2023 to 2026, where the main priorities are: inclusive human development, sustainable and inclusive green economic growth, integrated climate and environmental risk management, people-centered governance, and rule of law. The UN and the Government of Tajikistan plan to raise 368 million USD for this purpose. This key document formalized a new milestone of cooperation, in which the principle of the UN work shifted from development assistance to cooperation for development.

This principle implies that the UN and Tajikistan have entered an “era of cooperation” that has replaced the “era of aid”.

The implementation of the new program takes an integrated approach. This document is a key outcome in the UN reform, which aims to improve coherence, accountability and effectiveness of the UN system to achieve optimal results for the benefit of the people of Tajikistan.

21 UN agencies, including 8 non-resident agencies (without representation in the country) are supporting Tajikistan under this new Agreement. The above activities and achievements of the UN together with the Government are made possible by partners ranging from national, regional and local authorities, donors, development partners, civil society and media, local and international UN staff and all the people of Tajikistan.

This confirms that only by working together can we achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.