Ashgabat, 4 September 2026 – Representatives of key government institutions and UNICEF met today in Ashgabat for the first technical consultation as part of Turkmenistan’s preparations for the Second Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, to be held in Manila, Philippines, on 18–19 November 2026.
The consultation brought together members of the Inter-agency Working Group developing Turkmenistan’s National Programme on Child Protection and Justice for Children, coordinated by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Turkmenistan, together with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting had a practical purpose: to provide national partners with information about the Manila Conference and its national preparatory process, explain how national commitments, or pledges, work, share examples from other countries, and discuss whether priorities already being considered under Turkmenistan’s National Programme could be relevant to the country’s participation in Manila.
Participants discussed the four interconnected areas of the draft National Programme: strengthening family support and family-based care; advancing child-friendly justice; preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and neglect; and strengthening coordination, professional capacities, data and monitoring across the child protection system.
The discussion also considered whether one or more of these nationally defined priorities might warrant further technical review in the context of the Manila Conference. Any possible commitment would be subject to further expert discussion and consideration by the Government of Turkmenistan in accordance with national procedures.
“The development of the National Programme is a continuation of the work already being carried out in Turkmenistan to strengthen the protection of children and improve inter-agency cooperation,” said a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Turkmenistan. “Today’s consultation gives us an opportunity to learn more about the Manila Conference, consider relevant international experience and discuss how the work already underway in our country may relate to the global agenda on preventing and ending violence against children. We appreciate UNICEF’s continued technical support and the constructive participation of all ministries and institutions involved in this process.”
“Turkmenistan is at an important point in this work,” said Jalpa Ratna, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan. “The National Programme provides a strong national platform to bring together work on family support, prevention and response to violence, justice for children and stronger inter-agency coordination. The Manila Conference offers an opportunity to take stock of this progress, for countries to learn from each other and consider practical next steps that are realistic and nationally owned.”
During the consultation, a representative from UNICEF’s Centre of Excellence for Child Protection presented the objectives of the Manila Conference, the national preparatory process and the pledge mechanism, as well as examples from other countries.
Subject to the interest of the Government and participating institutions, the first consultation may be followed by further technical discussions in September and October to examine selected priority areas in more detail. These discussions could help clarify possible results, responsible institutions, implementation arrangements, timeframes and indicators before any options are submitted for Government consideration.
UNICEF reaffirmed its readiness to continue providing technical support to the Government of Turkmenistan throughout this process, in line with national priorities and at the Government’s request.
About the Conference
The Second Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children will take place in Manila, Philippines, on 18–19 November 2026 under the theme “Prevention at scale: ending violence against children in, and through, homes and schools.”
The Conference will bring together government delegations and partners from around the world to exchange experience, review progress and discuss practical measures to prevent and respond to violence against children. Key areas of focus include support to parents and caregivers, safe school environments, stronger child protection systems and services, protection from risks in the digital environment, and sustainable financing for prevention and response. ///nCa, 5 September 2026 (in cooperation with UNICEF Turkmenistan)