The round table was attended by members of the Senate and the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, members of the Supreme Court, the Commission on the Observance of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms under the Ombudsman, the National Centre for Human Rights of Uzbekistan, the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, representatives of civil society, representatives of international organizations and the diplomatic corps, as well as media.
The event was organized to mark the 29th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Uzbekistan and World Human Rights Day, and included an analysis of the Ombudsman's activities and a discussion of improvements to the legal and regulatory framework for the Office of the Authorized Person for Human Rights.
First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Director of the National Centre for Human Rights of Uzbekistan, Academician Akmal Saidov, who delivered a welcome speech and stressed that the Ombudsman had obtained a constitutional status, underlined that this year alone the head of the state had signed the Resolution "On additional measures to improve the system for detecting and preventing cases of torture " and the decree " the decree On measures to improve the activities of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of the Oliy Majlis.
He also proposed the adoption of a new version of the draft law on the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman), which was discussed at the event, based on the importance of the draft law and State policy on human rights.
Akmal Kholmatovich also touched on the topic of reforms described in the President's book "Strategy of New Uzbekistan", which will be implemented in the next five years to ensure human rights and freedoms in our country.
Speaking at the roundtable, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan Ambassador Pierre von Arx described the Ombudsman Institute as a bridge between citizens and state institutions and its pillars as the legal basis for the Authorized Person for Human Rights
- Citizens will only cross a bridge if they are confident that it is strong. This means that the stronger the legal basis of the Ombudsman, the more the citizen trusts him. In this respect, the question of the conformity of the draft law with international standards is also very important. In this regard, we rely on the Paris Principles adopted in 1993. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan supports the strength and sustainability of this draft law and is ready to co-operate in this regard.
According to Feruza Eshmatova, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights, the comprehensive human rights reforms carried out in recent years in our country are based on the Constitution of Uzbekistan. Article 13 of the Constitution states that democracy in the Republic of Uzbekistan is based on universal principles, according to which a person, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights are the highest values. From this point of view, the main goal of the institution of the Ombudsman is to ensure the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens.
As it was noted at the event, during 10 months of the year 2021 the Ombudsman received 15.373 appeals from citizens of our country, citizens and Ombudsmen from abroad, stateless persons, public organizations and other legal entities and as a subject of parliamentary control studied more than 7000 appeals. The Ombudsman has issued 33 conclusions and 15 submissions to ministries and departments on the restoration of citizens' rights that have been violated. In addition, 44 claims have been lodged with the courts and the staff of the Office of the Ombudsman has participated in court hearings on 86 occasions.
As it was stressed at the round table, the decree of the President dated 10 September this year "On measures to improve the activities of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) " was an important historic step in ensuring human rights and interests in our country. It set itself the task of improving the existing law on the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights on the basis of the reforms reflected in the decree.
One of the important innovations of this document is that the Ombudsman has been given the right to take legislative initiatives. This is not without reason, since the most effective proposals for the protection of human rights are formed in the Ombudsman's daily activities, in direct cooperation with the people, governmental and non-governmental organizations, the judicial system and the expert community. It is in this process that problems requiring solutions arise.
The participants in the event discussed the draft law on the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) with the participation of local and foreign experts and made proposals for its further improvement.
At the end of the event, on the eve of the 29th anniversary of the Constitution and World Human Rights Day, representatives of State and non-governmental organizations that have made a worthy contribution to ensuring human rights and freedoms in Uzbekistan were awarded letters of thanks.
Press Service of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (ombudsman)
