UZBEKISTAN INDICATES AREAS WHERE HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRESS IS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TASHKENT 000395 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL USOSCE FOR ELIZABETH KAUFMAN ASTANA FOR ALMATY/USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ELAB KIRF KPAO KTIP PGOV PREF PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN INDICATES AREAS WHERE HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRESS IS POSSIBLE ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a report of Uzbekistan's recent Universal Periodic Review (UPR) before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC),Uzbek officials agreed to several substantive recommendations from other member states on how to improve its human rights record. Uzbek officials also announced new forthcoming human rights-related legislation and stated they would "study and consider" several other recommendations made by member states. While talk is cheap (particularly in the UNHRC),Uzbek officials at least have publicly admitted deficiencies and committed themselves to making improvements before Uzbekistan's next UPR in four years. The UPR report also provides an opening for international interlocutors to further engage the government in areas where it has agreed to make progress. End summary. UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCILS NOTES IMPROVEMENTS -------------- ¶2. (U) As reported by the Russian Interfax news agency on March 25, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) noted recent positive steps taken by the Uzbek government during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Over the past year, Uzbek authorities have increased efforts to combat trafficking-in-persons (TIP),adopted legislative reforms strengthening defendants' rights, allowed international observers back into prisons, adopted legal measures to combat child labor, released several political prisoners, and abolished the death penalty. The Uzbek government was also cited for progress in these areas by the U.S. State Department's 2008 Human Rights Report. UZBEKISTAN AGREES TO SEVERAL SUBSTANTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) In the UPR report, Uzbek officials agreed to several substantive recommendations made by UNRC member states touching upon persistent human rights problems in Uzbekistan, including the use of child labor during the annual cotton harvest, prison conditions, and abuses committed by law enforcement personnel. They also agreed to continue efforts to combat human trafficking, deepen cooperation with international human rights mechanisms, and reduce discrimination against persons with disabilities. ¶4. (U) Most significantly, Uzbek officials agreed to the following recommendations in the UPR report: - to "promote legislation in conformity with UNICEF and ILO standards regarding the rights of the child...[to] effectively fight against the practice of forced child labor, including by considering taking specific administrative and penal actions towards those officials, who in their respective provinces, facilitate the labor of children in cotton fields...[to] immediately cease all public support for the employment of children in cotton harvesting and that the Government publicly condemn and effectively combat all forms of child labor...[to] ensure regular inspection of harvesting practices to monitor and guarantee full compliance with international child labor standards." - to "improve the conditions of detention...[to] establish TASHKENT 00000395 002 OF 004 independent mechanisms for complaints and for monitoring conditions in places of detention...[to] consider establishing a national independent mechanism to monitor all places of detention...[to] continue its efforts, in particular in the area of the juvenile justice system and access to basic health services, especially in prisons." - to "[provide] the necessary training and capacity building to law enforcement and the members of the judiciary in the area of human rights...[to] step up existing efforts to implement human rights education and training across all levels of society." - to "strengthen inter-ministerial coordination in law enforcement activities of agencies and implementation of measures to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms." - to "continue efforts to combat trafficking in women and children, by fully implementing the recently passed law of April 2008, on countering trafficking in persons." - to "strengthen and deepen interaction with relevant international human rights mechanisms and continue to engage with them constructively...[to] continue with international support its efforts to complete its human rights architecture and to spread human rights culture in Uzbekistan." - to "introduce awareness-raising programs aimed at positive contributions of persons with disabilities together with further measures to enhance their participation in decision-making processes." UZBEK OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE UPCOMING LEGISLATION -------------- ¶5. (U) In the UPR report, Uzbek officials also announced forthcoming human rights-related legislation, including: - a draft law "On guarantees of equal rights and opportunities for women and men," which is included in the government's legislative agenda for 2009. - amendments to the law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations." - amendments to the Labor Code "in accordance with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Uzbekistan) protecting children from performing work that serves as an obstacle to their education, as well as Paragraph 3 of Article 2 of ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age of Labor, according to which the minimum age of employment should not be below the age of completion of compulsory school education." (Note: As Uzbekistan has recently implemented a transition to 12 year mandatory secondary education, most Uzbek students complete mandatory schooling at age 18. End note.) TASHKENT 00000395 003 OF 004 ¶6. (U) Comment: The UPR report provided no details about the forthcoming amendments to the law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations." We hope the upcoming amendments will make the law less, not more, restrictive. End comment. UZBEKISTAN AGREES TO "CONSIDER" OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) While Uzbek officials outright rejected numerous other recommendations made by (mostly Western) UNRC member states - claiming that these recommendations were already addressed, not part of Uzbekistan's obligations under "international human rights standards," or based on faulty information - they also agreed to "study and consider" other substantive recommendations. These recommendations, which were not outright accepted or rejected by Uzbek officials, also touch upon long-standing human rights issues in Uzbekistan, including torture, the treatment of refugees, cooperation with non-governmental human rights organizations, and child labor. They include: - joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OP-CAT) and establishing a national torture prevention mechanism. - Modifying its Criminal Code in order to establish a definition on torture and punishments according to the Convention on Torture, and to broaden the definition in a way to encompass all cases of torture committed by persons acting in an official capacity. - joining the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951). - strengthening collaboration with national and international civil society actors, notably by giving general accreditation to major international human rights organizations. - Deepening cooperation with the special procedures of the UNRC, including by extending invitations to special thematic rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteurs for torture, freedom of opinion and expression, and human rights defenders, as well as to representatives of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. - Implementing labor inspections by qualified professionals with appropriate funding. - Ratifying the Rome Statute on establishing the International Criminal Court. LIST OF UZBEK OFFICIALS WHO PARTICIPATED AT THE UPR TASHKENT 00000395 004 OF 004 -------------- -------------- ¶8. (U) Many of Uzbekistan's highest-ranking officials responsible for human rights issues attended the UPR. The Uzbek delegation, headed by National Human Rights Center Chairman Akmal Saidov, included: - Human Rights Ombudswoman Sayyora Rashidova - Deputy Minister of Justice Esemurat Kanyazov - Deputy Prosecutor General Alisher Sharafutdinov - Deputy Interior Minister Abdukarim Shodiyev - MFA UN and International Organizations Department Head Durbek Amanov - MFA Second Secretary Oybek Shakhavdinov COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) While Uzbek officials did not accept all recommendations made by UNHR member states at the UPR, they accepted several substantive recommendations in key human rights areas. In the process, the government publicly admitted (well-publicized) deficiencies in its human rights record and committed itself to making improvements over the next four years. The UPR report provides an opening for international interlocutors to engage the government in those key areas, including combating child labor; improving prison conditions; curbing abuses (including torture) committed by law enforcement; continuing efforts to address human trafficking; deepening cooperation with international human rights organizations; and increasing protections for vulnerable populations, including women, refugees, and persons with disabilities. ¶10. (SBU) We should also take the opportunity to urge the Uzbeks to accept several of the recommendations that it promised to "consider and study," including joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OP-CAT),adopting the UN Convention on Refugees, and inviting thematic Special Rapporteurs to visit Uzbekistan, all of which would mark steps forward. The United States should continue to focus our human rights engagement with the Uzbeks in the key areas outlined above, including through high-level official visits to Tashkent and offers of assistance, and encourage other international actors to do likewise. At the same time, we will continue to urge the government to fully implement legal reforms. Substantive progress on human rights in Uzbekistan is likely to take patience and a long-term commitment, but slow progress is better than none at all. Engagement is much more likely to produce results than sanctions and isolation. NORLAND