On March 14, 2022, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman), the Supreme Council of Judges, the State Committee for Family and Women Affairs and together with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe organized an international conference on the topic "The Role of Women Judges in Ensuring Gender Equality and the Rule of Law".

The international conference began with welcoming speeches by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva and the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Ambassador Per von Arks.

Speaking at the event, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Feruza Eshmatova noted that the need to increase the participation of women in the judiciary stems from the obligations of Uzbekistan under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action.

- These documents oblige the participating countries to create conditions for women to hold positions in public administration, to provide women with equal opportunities at all levels of government, including in the judiciary. In addition, these documents provide for the participation of women in justice. In the practice of foreign countries, it has been noted that an increase in the number of female judges leads to an increase in public confidence in the judiciary.

At the event, it was noted that 16% of judges working today in the justice bodies are women. In the Supreme Court, this figure is 21 percent.

It is noteworthy that many women judges work effectively in leadership positions in the justice sector.

In particular, 5 women judges are chairmen and deputy chairmen of regional courts, 75 women are judges of the Supreme Council of Judges, the Supreme Court and regional courts of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 20 women are chairmen of district, city and inter-district courts.

Also, 16 out of 76 students, or 23%, admitted to the magistracy of the Higher Judicial School this academic year are women. Most of them will be appointed to the positions of judges after receiving certificates and successfully passing the competition, which will significantly increase gender representation in the judiciary.

During the discussions, the conference participants exchanged views on the state of gender equality in the judiciary and plans for the future to further improve the gender situation in the judiciary.

 At the end of the conference, a group of women judges who had worked selflessly in the field of justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan for many years were awarded Certificate of Merit of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

As a result of the conference, the community of women judges sent an appeal to the justice system of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Press Service of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman)