TASHKENT, 13 May 2020:  International discussion on the draft of National Human Rights Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held via video-conference.

Discussion of the draft of the National Human Rights Strategy took place in participation of Akmal Saidov, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament, Director of the National Center for Human Rights, Helena Fraser, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Nataliia Kuzmina, Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as Richard Komenda, Head of the OHCHR ROCA, Mathieu Lemoine, Human Dimension Senior Advisor at the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, George Tugushi, UN and OSCE International Expert, Ulugbek Lapasov, Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as well as staff of the UN Office in Tashkent and the National Center for Human Rights.

The purpose of the event was to subject the draft of the National Human Rights Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, developed on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to international examination.

Opening the video discussion, Mr. Saidov thanked international partners and experts for their views and comments on the draft of National Strategy. He further noted that the draft document was widely discussed at the national and international levels, during which proposals were received from more than 100 government and non-government organizations, the UN and its agencies, the OSCE and other international partners.

The participants of the international discussion commended the National Strategy and the draft “Roadmap” for its implementation and positively assessed the document.

Notably, Ms. Fraser highlighted that the goal of the Strategy is to form a national human rights system and to implement it in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Uzbekistan. She further encouraged the use of the experience of human rights organizations in achieving the goals of National Strategy and SDGs. She also suggested holding a conference on the “COVID-19 pandemic and Human Rights” with the participation of parliament and civil society institutions.

Mr. Komenda said that in the current pandemic environment, in addition to its negative consequences, efforts should be made to find its positive aspects, for example, in such circumstances, the use of new information technologies to conduct events of the same nature as today's event quickly and without excessive resources will further improve the quality of the Draft Strategy. “International expertise is also aimed at further improving the quality of the Draft National Strategy, which has been designed for long term, allowing it to be adapted to the format pursued by the UN”.

The OSCE Representative Mr. Lemoine underlined: “The OSCE has sent humanitarian assistance to the residents of Sardoba, and this highlights the importance of international community and helping each other. It is gratifying that a number of proposals made by the OSCE/ODIHR on the Draft National Strategy have been included in the text of the document”.

The expert of the UN and OSCE Mr. Tugushi noted that while the National Strategy and “Roadmap” drafts have been developed to near perfection, they have been written in a simple and understandable language, they have strategic importance, and they have been designed for a long term. He said that he had made recommendations on bringing the Strategy in line with the international standards, and that in future this document could serve as a model for other countries, including the Central Asian region.

Mr. Lapasov informed of ongoing cooperation with the OHCHR regarding this document, and of expectations to hold a presentation in Geneva with the participation of international organizations and the diplomatic corps of foreign countries.

After the adoption of the National Strategy, agreement was reached to present it in presence of international organizations, diplomatic missions of foreign countries, international and national experts, as well as to organize a video-conference on the theme “COVID-19 pandemic and Human Rights”.

The international discussion was conducted in a very constructive spirit.

Press service of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan