On September 11-12, 2025, Tashkent will host the first International Forum of Children’s Ombudspersons from Central Asian countries.

The international conference, organized in cooperation with UNICEF and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, will be dedicated to the “Current Issues in Improving Mechanisms for the Protection of Children’s Rights in Central Asian Countries: Prospects for Regional Cooperation among Children’s Ombudspersons”.

The Commissioner of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Children’s Rights (Children’s Ombudsperson), Surayyo Rakhmonova, spoke about this international forum:

“In recent years, our country has been carrying out consistent reforms aimed at ensuring the comprehensive protection of the rights and interests of minors. Practical efforts to eradicate child labor and protect children from various forms of violence are receiving international recognition”.

Uzbekistan’s open, pragmatic, and multi-vector foreign policy, pursued under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is also reflected in the sphere of protecting children’s rights. Cooperation between Uzbekistan and UNICEF is being strengthened, and within this partnership, many important initiatives have been implemented.

Joint work is being carried out to address complex situations faced by children, based on interstate cooperation. In this regard, the Children’s Ombudsperson of Uzbekistan has been consistently establishing effective contacts with colleagues from other countries.

In particular, thanks to close contacts and joint efforts of the children’s ombudspersons of Central Asian countries, measures are being taken to repatriate children in difficult social conditions abroad. Practical tasks are being carried out, such as restoring the violated rights of these children, providing them with social services, preparing the necessary documents, and arranging guardianship.

It is noteworthy that Uzbekistan, being one of the leading countries in the region in the sphere of child rights protection, has taken the initiative to establish a regional platform for dialogue among the children’s ombudspersons of Central Asian countries.

The main goal of the first international forum to be held in Tashkent is to exchange constructive experience in the field of child rights protection and to determine measures for the optimal resolution of everyday challenges.

Dialogue among the children’s ombudspersons of Central Asian countries will serve as an effective regional platform for cooperation, aimed at developing unified approaches to countering regional and transnational threats and risks.

It is expected that the international conference will be attended by children’s ombudspersons from Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan – as well as representatives of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) and ombudspersons from European countries such as Finland, Norway, and Croatia.

The forum will also bring together representatives of Uzbekistan’s parliament, responsible government agencies, non-governmental non-profit organizations, and the media.

As part of the two-day international forum, plenary sessions will be held focusing on pressing issues related to the protection of children’s rights.

Key topics will include the experience of Central Asian countries in incorporating international child rights standards into national legislation, national monitoring of the situation of children in the region, prospects for developing interregional and international cooperation among children’s ombudspersons, ensuring children’s online safety, effective mechanisms for preventing all forms of violence against minors, and securing children’s effective access to justice.

During extensive discussions and exchanges of views, participants will address key tasks aimed at creating a regional platform for dialogue and cooperation among the children’s ombudspersons of Central Asian countries.

At the conclusion of the conference, a declaration will be adopted to strengthen interregional and international cooperation in the field of ensuring and protecting children’s rights in Central Asia.

The Forum of Children’s Ombudspersons of Central Asian Countries is planned to be held annually.

The creation of a permanent regional platform will serve as a solid foundation for forming a unified dialogue space among the Central Asian states in the field of protecting the interests of minors.

Norgul Abduraimova, UzA