Tulia Ackson: Young people should demand accountability for human rights violations from the parliamentary rostrum
As part of the 12th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Samarkand, UzA spoke with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Tulia Ackson.
Tulia Ackson said the Inter-Parliamentary Union was genuinely pleased to host the Samarkand Conference in the historic and eternally young city of Samarkand. She also thanked Uzbekistan’s leadership and parliament for their excellent organization on behalf of the IPU.
She noted that the world was going through a difficult period, with the human rights situation deteriorating in many regions and the number of armed conflicts reaching its highest level since World War II.
According to her, after many years of increasing youth representation in parliaments, this trend was once again reversed.
The IPU President expressed concern about the risks of these changes, warning that they could revert the world to an era without international law, where disputes are resolved through force. She emphasized that the dangers of such a path are well understood and urged urgent action.
She emphasized that members of parliament represent the people’s interests and that the human rights system was created specifically to protect citizens.
Speaking about parliaments’ role in such circumstances, Tulia Ackson stressed that parliaments could not abandon human rights principles, even if others did, and that they needed to hold firm.
She noted that the Inter-Parliamentary Union was taking more active steps. Human rights had become its top priority, and the “Human Rights in Focus” campaign had launched.
According to her, human rights must be ensured in practice through legislation, budgetary mechanisms, and parliamentary oversight.
On the role of young parliamentarians in this process, Tulia Ackson noted that without young people’s contributions, parliaments could not serve as an effective pillar of human rights. She said risks were evolving and that the younger generation was more attuned to contemporary challenges, providing the fresh perspective lawmakers urgently needed.
She stressed that young people should demand accountability for human rights violations from the parliamentary rostrum.
Speaking about new human rights-related challenges facing young parliamentarians, the IPU President noted that human rights were increasingly extending into new areas. Climate change, for example, directly affected human security. She emphasized that young parliamentarians should defend the interests of future generations and prevent decisions that shift the consequences of climate-related problems onto young people.
She also noted that the digital environment was creating new threats, including online violence, privacy violations, and the spread of misinformation.
According to Tulia Ackson, young people should participate in developing norms and rules to govern the digital world so that technology protects human rights rather than undermines them.
When asked about opportunities for young people given current conditions, she pointed out that parliaments have direct tools of influence, such as labor laws, budget decisions, and oversight of the labor market.
She stressed that young parliamentarians should use these instruments and ensure that government programs provide tangible support to young people.
Taking the opportunity, Tulia Ackson called on young parliamentarians to prioritize human rights issues and build intergenerational alliances by cooperating with colleagues prepared for joint action. She noted that such political determination was precisely what was needed today and that the conference was intended to unite these efforts.
Speaking about the discussions awaiting conference participants, the IPU President said that over two days, they would examine youth rights in detail. The main objective, she noted, was for every participant to return to their country and parliament prepared to defend those rights actively.
She emphasized that the conference would clearly define their stance on human rights. Young parliamentarians would rally around rejecting a world where rights are diminished and injustice is widespread, vowing to defend the gains made by earlier generations. She also stated that the Inter-Parliamentary Union would consistently support young people in this effort.
Norgul Abduraimova, UzA
