"Does election to the Human Rights Council reflect real reforms in Uzbekistan?"

The following article was contributed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Korea Post media for publication.--ED.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has achieved significant results in the field of human rights protection. Today, the country has formed its own model of the systematic and phased implementation of international human rights standards into national legislation and law enforcement practice.

Uzbekistan has joined more than 80 main international human rights instruments, including 6 main UN treaties and 4 Optional Protocols, on the implementation of which national reports are regularly submitted to various bodies of the UN human rights mechanism.

Uzbekistan and the UN - new facets and contours of cooperation

The UN and the Republic of Uzbekistan have an almost 30-year history of cooperation, which began from the moment our country joined the UN as a full member of this universal international organization on March 2, 1992.

It should be noted that within the framework of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UN in the field of human rights, only over the past four years, very significant results have been achieved, which have not been achieved over the past 75 years.

The country is fruitfully cooperating with the UN and its specialized agencies in various areas: combating modern threats and security challenges; stabilization of the situation and reconstruction of Afghanistan; non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; solving environmental problems, in particular, mitigating the consequences of the Aral Sea tragedy; sustainable social and economic development; protection of human rights and freedoms, etc.

In recent years, as part of the implementation of the tasks of the Action Strategy in five priority areas of development in 2017-2021, Uzbekistan's contacts with the UN have noticeably intensified. Our country has begun to more actively participate in the activities of the General Assembly and the UN specialized agencies.

In particular, visits to Uzbekistan by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief Ahmad Shaheed, as well as on the independence of judges and lawyers - Diego Garcia Sayan, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalia German and many other high-ranking representatives of the UN and its specialized structures. As a result of these visits and meetings, a number of plans of practical measures, "road maps" for the development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UN were adopted and are being implemented. 

The UN system has significantly stepped up support to Uzbekistan in addressing a wide range of development issues in various areas, including health, education and social protection, preservation of cultural values, protection of natural resources and biodiversity, combating drug trafficking and the spread of HIV / AIDS.

A significant event was the participation of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 72nd and 75th jubilee sessions of the UN General Assembly. Thanks to the new atmosphere of cooperation, Uzbekistan has become an active participant in processes in all spheres of UN activity, which has a positive effect on the relations of the member states to the republic.

All the initiatives put forward by Uzbekistan within the framework of the UN have found full support from the world community and today they make a significant practical contribution to ensuring universal peace, stability and sustainable development, and protecting human rights.

On the initiative of the leadership of Uzbekistan, three resolutions were developed and adopted within the framework of the UN General Assembly. In particular, on December 12, 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted a special resolution "Enlightenment and Religious Tolerance." The document, the draft of which was developed by Uzbekistan and adopted in record time, was unanimously supported by all UN member states. The document was co-authored by over 50 countries of North and Latin America, Asia, Africa and other continents, which testifies to the high recognition by the international community of the relevance and timeliness of the initiative of the head of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The elaboration of another General Assembly resolution on declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies and the Convention on the Rights of Youth for their further adoption within the framework of the UN continues.

In particular, in August 2020, under the auspices of the United Nations, the Samarkand Forum dedicated to the rights of youth was held. It discussed the draft Convention on the Rights of Youth prepared by Uzbekistan, adopted the Samarkand Resolution "Youth 2020: Global Solidarity, Sustainable Development and Human Rights", which is presented as an official document of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, posted in the system of official documents of the UN under number A / 74/998.

Uzbekistan highly appreciates the efforts of the UN human rights bodies to strengthen the protection of human rights around the world. And the protection of human rights is seen as one of the priorities of interaction with this universal international organization. For without ensuring human rights, it is impossible to solve the problems of socio-economic, political-legal and cultural-humanitarian development of states. 

Uzbekistan maintains an active and constructive dialogue with statutory and treaty bodies, UN specialized agencies and special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. Submits in a timely manner periodic reports on the implementation of the main international human rights treaties, as well as on the follow-up to the implementation of the recommendations of the treaty bodies (41 reports have been submitted to date).

Uzbekistan has developed national indicators for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, the Action Strategy is a "road map" for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the High-Level Political Forum under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council, Uzbekistan presented the first Voluntary National Review on progress in the implementation of the SDGs.

A stable political system has been created in the country that meets modern criteria of democracy and human rights; legislative, executive and judicial authorities at all levels are actively working. Most importantly, respect for the principles of the rule of law is being established in Uzbek society, and a culture of human rights is being formed.

Uzbekistan was the first of the Central Asian states to create an effective system of national human rights institutions, which includes the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Children's Ombudsman, Business Ombudsman and the National Center for Human Rights.

There has not been a planetary disaster of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past hundred years. By the end of 2020, more than 85 million people have become infected with coronavirus worldwide, of whom over 1.8 million have died. The pandemic provoked a global economic crisis, which causes the global economy a monthly loss of $ 400 billion.From the first days of COVID-19 detection in Uzbekistan all efforts and resources of the state were aimed at implementing effective measures to prevent the wide spread of the pandemic, protect the life and health of citizens, reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on sustainable socio-economic development, and establish cooperation with international partners.

Trying to protect their populations from the threat of coronavirus, the governments of almost all countries of the world are faced with the problem of maintaining the normal functioning of the economy and society in conditions of social isolation, which is the main protective measure to combat the spread of infection.

At the same time, special attention was paid to the implementation of the recommendations of the international community in the person of the UN and other international organizations to ensure the observance of human rights in the adoption of state measures to combat the threat to public health in the context of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. In particular, taking measures to protect the right to life and health and ensure access to health care for all who need it, without any discrimination, paying special attention to vulnerable groups of the population, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, women, migrants, homeless.
Based on the study of the international legal framework, advanced foreign and domestic experience in the legal regulation of human rights and freedoms in a state of emergency, epidemics and pandemics, over 50 laws, decrees and resolutions of the President in this area have been adopted in Uzbekistan in a short period of time.

They are aimed at limiting the likelihood of infection of people, containing and preventing the wide spread of coronavirus infection in Uzbekistan, supporting medical workers and workers of the sanitary and epidemiological service involved in countering the spread of coronavirus infection, supporting the sanitary and epidemiological well-being and safety of the population, meeting the needs of people and medical institutions. in medicines, medical products, medical equipment and essential goods, targeted social protection of citizens, active support of the economy and entrepreneurs.

The activities of the Special Republican Commission for the Prevention of the Importation and Spread of Coronavirus, headed by the Prime Minister, have been organized. All regions were divided into color zones - "red" (the most dangerous), "yellow" and "green" (free from the virus), which determine the level of danger of the spread of COVID-19, but also the list of restrictions introduced on their territory. An Anti-Crisis Fund in the amount of 10 trillion soums was established, which was used to financially support the health care system, social infrastructure, population and enterprises. In general, systemic measures taken promptly and in a timely manner made it possible to prevent the widespread spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, to ensure sustainable social and economic development of the country.