Tashkent hosted a conference on “Clean and Sustainable Environment – Guarantee for the Protection of Human Rights”.

The event was organized by the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman), the UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, and the Konrad Adenauer and Friedrich Ebert Foundations. It gathered representatives of human rights institutions and international organizations from more than 20 countries.

In their opening remarks, the Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva, the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber Nuriddin Ismailov, and Uzbekistan’s Ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova emphasized that the reforms being implemented in New Uzbekistan under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are primarily aimed at protecting human interests and strengthening the defense of their rights. The renewed Constitution has tripled the number of provisions focused on human rights protection, and the Ombudsman Institution continues to work actively to safeguard human rights.

UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan Akiko Fujii, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, Ambassador Antti Karttunen, and the President of the International Ombudsman Institute Nashieli Hernández emphasized that the Ombudsman Institution plays a crucial role in ensuring human rights, and this issue receives special attention in Uzbekistan. In particular, the Ombudsman has established practical mechanisms to prevent cases of torture. Notably, in the context of global climate change, attention is also being given to citizens’ right to a clean environment. According to international partners, cooperation in this area will continue to develop actively.

During the international event, discussions focused on the link between human rights and the environment, ensuring environmental security, and strengthening the right of citizens to live in a clean environment. Special attention was also given to experience sharing and enhancing cooperation between ombudspersons from different countries, national institutions, authorized state bodies, and international organizations.

The international conference continued its work in a session format, focusing on the protection of human rights to a favorable environment and strengthening the role of global and regional documents.

The experiences of Türkiye, Hungary, Mongolia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Russia, Thailand, Qatar, Morocco, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan were reviewed.

The main topic of discussion was enhancing cooperation between government and civil society organizations in ensuring citizens’ environmental rights.

As part of the event, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Following the conference, the Tashkent Resolution was adopted.

A presentation of a book dedicated to the activities of Uzbekistan’s Ombudsman took place.

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Norgul Abduraimova, UzA