Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA), the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish” in cooperation with the National Centre for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan are holding an International Public Discussion on Uzbekistan’s implementation of the latest recommendations of the UN Treaty Bodies in the framework of project “Enhancing the Quality of Uzbekistan’s Application of international Law (EQUAL)” funded by the European Union.
The Expert Discussion will focus on the effective implementation of the recommendations of the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Committees. The discussion follows publishing of findings and recommendations by these two major UN human rights bodies which should now be implemented by Uzbekistan.
During the event national and international experts including member of the UN Treaty Bodies, civil society representatives, State bodies, international organisations and individual experts will discuss the essential steps to be taken by Uzbekistan to ensure effective implementation of the recommendations. Brief presentations will be followed by questions and answers. Thus, the event will present an opportunity for various stakeholders to meet and discuss the implementation of the most recent UN Recommendations with the members of the relevant Treaty Bodies which took part in their adoption.
“In the recent years, Uzbekistan has adopted a number of legislative, institutional and policy measures to advance with realisation of economic, social and cultural rights and to promote a gender equality. The European Union welcomes these changes, yet it points to the need to effectively implement all the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women and UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committees without exception. In this regard, we hope that today’s event will increase awareness of our stakeholders concerning what should be done as a next step in order to tackle those issues taking into account main recommendations of the Committees” – said Mr Mindaugas Kacerauskis, Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Uzbekistan.
“For several years now the ICJ has worked to support protection of through implementation of international human rights law obligations. The recent Concluding Observations of the CESCR and CEDAW Committees give important and specific guidance to Uzbekistan about what exactly should be done to implement its international obligations, on economic and social rights and on the human rights of women. It is crucial to develop a precise plan for effective implementation of these recommendations.”, said Róisín Pillay, Director of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme.
“It is known that our country submits reports on the implementation of international documents to the relevant UN committees in a timely manner. In particular, Uzbekistan’s report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, one of the first international instruments signed since independence, was presented this year. Based on their study of the reports, the relevant UN committees have developed recommendations for Uzbekistan. And these recommendations have been made public. The recommendations highlight the results of the reforms implemented in our country in recent years. The significance of today’s international public hearing is that it is attended by international and national experts, in particular experts from the UN and the International Commission of Lawyers, as well as representatives of local NGOs. I think that knowledge of international experience in this field, mutual exchange of experience will play an important role in the implementation of the Recommendations given to Uzbekistan”, – said Mr Bobur Bekmurodov, Chairman of the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish”.
The event is organised within the framework of the Project “Enhancing the Quality of Uzbekistan’s Application of international Law (EQUAL)” funded by the European Union through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and implemented by the International Commission of Jurists. The main objective of the EQUAL project is to promote, by supporting civil society, equal protection of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights for groups particularly vulnerable to discrimination in Uzbekistan.
Background
This is the third expert discussion held within the framework of the EQUAL project, the first being on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the second on the role of the civil society in the UN Treaty Bodies review. Between 2017 and 2021, six expert discussions took place within the ACCESS (Advancing Civil Society in Promoting ESC Rights Standards) project implemented by the ICJ under the support of the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan.
This press release is available to be downloaded in English, Russian, and Uzbek.
You can also watch a video of the event here.
Contact
Temur Shakirov, Senior Legal Adviser at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), [email protected]