OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan

Assisting in implementation of human rights policies

The OSCE pays great attention to the development of national human rights institutions in accordance with existing commitments undertaken by participating States. The Project Co-ordinator’s main partners in this area are Uzbekistan’s parliamentary ombudsperson and the National Human Rights Centre.

In 2013-2015, the Project Co-ordinator will continue to build the capacity of the ombudsperson institution, focusing on further improvement of national legislation to bring it into full accordance with international norms and standards.

Since 2012, the Project Co-ordinator has been implementing a joint project with the National Human Rights Centre aimed at implementation of state policies on ensuring the protection of human rights and freedoms. The main goals of the project are to improve the skills of the Centre’s personnel and representatives of state bodies and civil society institutions in the use of international standards in the field of human rights and freedoms; to assist in improving mechanisms for public oversight and monitoring the observance of laws in the sphere of ensuring protection of human rights and freedoms; to provide support for conducting scientific research in this field; to provide international good practices in ensuring protection of human rights and freedoms.

Promoting international standards in the penitentiary system

In 2008-2012, the Uzbek government took a number of measures to improve the training system for personnel from law-enforcement agencies and to improve efforts aimed at eradicating torture, ensuring the rights of detainees and convicts, and further reforming the penitentiary system.

In 2013, the Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan will concentrate on building the capacity of officials from the Main Department for the Execution of Sentences with a series of training courses for junior personnel on international penitentiary standards, a series of training courses for personnel from penitentiary facilities on the provisions of the UN Convention against Torture, and training courses on monitoring penitentiary facilities.

Human rights at the Interior Ministry Academy

In 2010-2011, the Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan provided expertise and technical support for the establishment of a resource centre at the Department of Human Rights Theory and Practice, as well as for the publication of a textbook on the general human rights theory.

The Human Rights Resource Centre represents an improvement in the organizational and methodological activities at the department. It also provides better access to information on human rights for students at the Academy. Technical support was provided that helped equip a learning room in the department that is now capable of holding training sessions with the use of the latest teaching technologies. A library of printed materials on international law and human rights, provided by the OSCE, ensures that faculty members are able to improve their knowledge of relevant subjects.

In 2013, there are plans to conduct activities in the following two areas:

• Organizing training courses for students from the basic training schools of various law-enforcement agencies.
• Building a culture of human rights among law-enforcement personnel.