The conference, organised with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), brings together representatives of state authorities from across the OSCE region, OSCE institutions and structures, national human rights institutions, civil society, and experts.

During today’s discussions, Ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova presented the work being carried out in Uzbekistan to ensure human rights and freedoms and strengthen national mechanisms for their protection.

As noted, the Constitution of Uzbekistan establishes the protection of human rights and freedoms as the supreme goal of the State. At the same time, the Constitution specifically provides that national human rights institutions complement the existing forms and means of protecting human rights and freedoms. It was emphasized that enshrining guarantees for the activities of national human rights institutions in the Constitution of Uzbekistan represents one of the advanced practices in the world.

The National Human Rights Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan also identifies strengthening the role of national institutions, expanding their mandate, and improving the effectiveness of their activities as priority objectives.

In her statement, Feruza Eshmatova noted that the national preventive mechanism for the prevention of torture and other forms of cruel treatment has been fundamentally improved in Uzbekistan. In particular, under the revised Law, the powers of the Commissioner of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) have been further strengthened in the areas of parliamentary oversight and monitoring of closed institutions. Attention was drawn to regular monitoring visits conducted by the Ombudsman and public groups to closed institutions where persons with restricted freedom of movement are held, as well as to the strengthened legal foundations of mechanisms for protecting and ensuring the rights of convicted persons and detainees.

The Warsaw Conference is addressing current issues related to ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, strengthening democratic institutions, and implementing human dimension commitments across the OSCE region.

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