A UN independent expert on Monday called for Tajikistan to enact freedom of information and whistleblower legislation, saying such laws are needed to protect public access to budget and debt information and participation in budget-making. She delivered preliminary observations in Dushanbe at the close of a 12-day official visit.

Attiya Waris, the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights, assessed the country against seven principles of fiscal legitimacy: accountability, transparency, responsibility, efficiency, effectiveness, fairness and justice.

Waris linked her transparency findings to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Tajikistan is a party. She reported gaps in the availability and accessibility of reliable public data and said measures already underway—including proposals concerning the minimum wage and whistleblower legislation—were not sufficiently visible to the public.

Regarding the justice principle, Waris reported that Tajikistan has roughly 800 to 900 practicing lawyers for a population above 10 million—fewer than nine per 100,000 residents, and unevenly distributed across the country. She said the low density may impede access to legal representation in rural and remote areas, and that she received information raising questions about the independence of lawyers, prosecutors and defense counsel.

Those findings come as Tajikistan faces separate criticism over its treatment of lawyers and journalists. Human Rights Watch has urged authorities to free lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov, who has been imprisoned since 2015 after representing political opposition figures.

Waris said Tajikistan has posted strong growth and poverty reduction, though the economy remains dependent on labor migration, remittances and imports, with domestic production still developing. She stated: “Remittances have supported families, household consumption and poverty reduction, but they cannot substitute for sufficient, decent and productive employment at home.” She further encouraged Tajikistan to strengthen its agricultural, food-processing, tourism, and mining sectors, alongside its digital economy, in order to meet its human rights obligation to ensure an adequate standard of living for its people.

She highlighted the Roghun Hydropower Plant as a case where large infrastructure spending should be matched with transparent cost-benefit analysis, responsible financing, and public participation. The project, which has secured $650 million in World Bank financing, is due for completion in 2033.

The expert commended the government for raising the minimum wage to 1,300 somoni, about $140, and increasing civil servants’ pay by 40 percent but said the minimum wage remains uncompetitive nationally and regionally. She also cited barriers to women’s economic participation, including low wages and shortages of childcare and social services, recommending expanded childcare, financial literacy programs, and business-development support for entrepreneurs.

Waris also traveled to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, a remote mountainous region of about 233,600 people, where she lauded the country for its efforts in improving road connectivity and transportation services.

The visit was the thirteenth by a UN special procedures mandate holder since 2005, and Waris credited the government’s cooperation throughout. She is set to present a report with her full findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2027.