Information and communication equipment and four minivans were handed over to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan as a part of an initiative to support the Civil Registry System Reform in the country. 

Funded by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the initiative aims to support the protection of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights by making civil registry institutions and mechanisms more responsive to the populations’ needs through automatization, better capacity development approaches, and awareness raising.

Officials of the Ministry of Justice, the EU and SDC, and UNDP attended the handover ceremony at the Marriage Registration office to mark the multilateral cooperation in supporting Tajikistan's civil registration system.

Muzaffar Ashuriyon, Minister of Justice, emphasized the Government’s commitment to promote e-governance. In his speech, Mr. Ashuriyon commended the undertaken efforts in the digital transformation of the civil registration system and its integration with other public institutions.

To support the Government in its goal to make civil registry institutions more responsive to the populations’ needs, both the EU and SDC funded the procurement of IT equipment ($US 736,000) which includes laptops, desktops, printers and uninterruptable power supplies (UPS). Marc Buchmann, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation in Tajikistan noted in his remarks that “The activities that are envisaged to be implemented under the project are crucial for supporting the reform of the civil registry system so people of Tajikistan, who are the final beneficiaries of the project, take the full advantage from its outcomes.”

The four minivans procured by the Government of Switzerland will bring civil registration and public information services to the doorsteps of citizens living in remote areas. Vehicles will travel across a pre-established route and visit all jamoats (municipalities) to offer mobile civil registration services. Salome Steib, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, said: “We would continue to encourage the Ministry to expand their work on the civil registration beyond the existing civil registry offices in order to cover the gap in quality services in the rural regions.”

“We value the cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and appreciate the partnership with our donors – the EU and the Government of Switzerland – for their vital support to improve public services for all Tajik citizens,” said Lenni Montiel, UNDP Resident Representative in Tajikistan.