Uzbekistan has become a member of the UN Human Rights Council
On October 13, at the UN General Assembly, Uzbekistan for the first time became one of the 15 new members of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a three-year term, starting from January 1, 2021.
The situation among the applicants was clearly in favor of Uzbekistan. From Asia, five countries applied for the four vacant seats in the Council. Saudi Arabia did not pass the vote. Uzbekistan got the most votes in the region (169).
Before this news, the country had an online debate and active discussions. As expected, the pro-government public structures welcomed the upcoming membership.
Gulnora Ishankhanova, a lawyer at the Research and Education Center “Oila”, has no doubts that the initiative needs to be supported, since there is more demand from a UN Council member state.
“This will force the authorities, both today and in the future, to listen to civil society, not as now “just as a pure formality”, but really,” Ishankhanova said. “I think we should have an interest in what is happening today. They will try to implement international human rights standards, fight against torture, etc. Even if today those in positions do not have the correct understanding, but tomorrow young people will come, they will continue in a different way, not just for appearances’ sake.”
Farida Sharif, the administrator of Tashkent-SNOS [demolition] group, spoke sharply about the status of Uzbekistan in the UN HRC.
“I don’t understand what is currently preventing Uzbekistan from adhering to its own Constitution and its own legislation on respect for private property,” she says. “There are laws. Hokims bypass them. The judges bypass them. The Prosecutor’s Office bypasses them. Why will the senators, who own construction companies, begin to listen to Saidov, for example, or another official if they suddenly are in the Council? Will Saidov start admonishing Artykhodzhaev? And will he obey?”
Farida is referring to the director of the country’s National Center for Human Rights Akmal Saidov, a loyal propagandist since the era of Karimov, and the mayor of Tashkent, Jahongir Artykhodjaev, who has his own business interests.
The President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (France), Nadejda Atayeva, ambiguously reacted to the news from the HRC. According to her, she analyzed for a long time and came to the conclusion that participation in the UN Human Rights Council would not stimulate the implementation of reforms. One of the reasons is the selective approach policy. “Anyone, who has expressed an opinion openly, is immediately labeled “ours” or “alien”, that is, a discriminatory policy has been and remains,” she is sure.
In the commentary for the ACCA, the human rights activist noted the absence of conditions for the legalization of human rights defenders, the continuing practice of torture and the absence of an urgent mechanism to respond to this.
“If there are no conditions for an independent audit of judicial processes, of state crimes, then bureaucratic collusion will always increase. Therefore, the promotion of Uzbekistan to the UN Human Rights Council is an undeserved advance,” the human rights activist believes.
