Meeting with Swedish and Danish migration officials
A bilateral meeting was held in Tashkent at the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights with representatives of migration authorities from Sweden and Denmark, focusing on human rights and migration policy.
The meeting brought together Akmal Saidov, Director of the National Center for Human Rights, Emma Simicich, Senior Analyst at the Swedish Migration Agency, and Alex Hemmingsen, Senior Advisor and Head of the Department for International Relations at the Danish Immigration Service.
The main purpose of the discussions was to explore potential areas of cooperation and to exchange information on the situation in Uzbekistan regarding migration and human rights protection.
During the talks, the Uzbek side presented the key areas of the Center’s work, including legislative, institutional, educational, and monitoring activities. Special attention was given to adopting the renewed Constitution, which expands citizens’ rights and freedoms and enshrines the right to appeal to international human rights bodies.
It was also noted that Uzbekistan has established a multi-level human rights monitoring system covering parliamentary, executive, judicial, public, and international mechanisms. In particular, the Uzbekistan delegation presented its periodic report under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Geneva on April 21-22, 2026.
The Director of the Center also informed the foreign partners about the Samarkand Human Rights Forum, which has been held every two years since 2018. The fifth edition of the forum is scheduled for 2026 and will mark the 60th anniversary of key international human rights covenants.
Representatives from the Swedish Migration Agency and the Danish Immigration Service shared information about their countries’ Country of Origin Information (COI) units, noting that these units provide analytical support but do not make individual asylum decisions.
The sides also discussed migration policy issues, including reforms in Uzbekistan, civil registration systems, and migration flows. It was noted that Uzbekistan is actively developing cooperation on labor migration with various countries and is working with the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency.
Following the meeting, both sides expressed interest in further cooperation, including information sharing, combating human trafficking, and supporting legal labor migration.
The Uzbek side also invited Swedish and Danish representatives to participate in the upcoming Samarkand Human Rights Forum.
Nazokat Usmanova, UzA
