At the forum taking place in Samarkand, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, sent a video message to the participants.

He noted that the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution affect every single person on this planet. And this is a crisis not just for our planet, but for human rights. The rights to health, food, water, and sanitation are directly impacted. So, too, is the right to life. In 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution, recognizing that people everywhere have the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

Some 83% of UN member states, including Uzbekistan, have now formally recognized the right to a healthy environment in their domestic law.

– I visited Uzbekistan in March last year and was impressed by the determination of people to address the human rights issues affecting the country, including with respect to the environment, – Volker Türk said. – Uzbekistan also has made strong commitments to address the human rights crisis stemming from climate change. I welcome, for example, its recent accession to the UN’s Europe Protocol on Water and Health, the first country in Central Asia to do so.

At last year’s UN General Assembly, Uzbekistan committed to a regional initiative collectively to address issues such as decertification and water security. At last year’s UN Climate Change Conference, Uzbekistan also undertook to address climate-related migration and displacement as well as to advance the participation of young people in environmental issues.

I welcome Uzbekistan’s engagement with the Universal Periodic Review process, which has led to a number of recommendations to enhance human rights protections in the country. As you know, the catastrophic consequences of environmental degradation will continue to unravel at lightning speed unless we act with resolve and act now. Action guided by the human rights framework rooted in equality, justice, and human dignity can provide us with the solutions so urgently needed.

Norgul Abduraimova, photos by Alisher Isroilov, UzA