Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19-20 November, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for Central Asia and the Higher School of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan (HSC) held a national training on the topic “International standards in the field of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR)”. This two-day online training was the third and final in a series of trainings on ESC rights, covering the right to health care, education, housing, child protection and the right to work.

The aim of this online training was to strengthen the capacity of judges in the field of international standards for ESC rights. The trainers shared best practices in the field of compliance by states with their international obligations, including through judicial practice related to ensuring access to justice in protecting ESC rights.

Each training consisted of four modules: (1) an introduction to international law on ESC rights; (2) international obligations regarding access to justice and ESC remedies in national courts; comparative examples of good practice; (3) ESC children’s rights; and (4) ESC women’s rights.

Jussi Narvi, Chargé d’Affaires of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan, said: “The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has shown the relevance and importance of economic, social and cultural rights that must be ensured by states, even in emergency situations. In accepting international obligations, Uzbekistan is obliged to respect, protect and observe human rights, including during a state of emergency, and to ensure access to justice and remedies.”

Richard Komenda, Regional Representative of the UN Human Rights Office for Central Asia, reminded the audience that in February 2021 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and in September 2021 the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) review Uzbekistan’s progress in fulfilling its human rights obligations. 

Mr Komenda also noted that the application of UN human rights treaties at the national level is one of the general issues that UN treaty bodies pose to the relevant participating States, including Uzbekistan. Quoting Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Komenda concluded that “Respect for human rights across the spectrum, including economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, will be fundamental to a successful public health response and recovery from a pandemic”.

“I hope that our training workshops on economic, social and cultural rights will make human rights less theoretical and more practical, less illusory, but also effective,” said Temur Shakirov, Senior Legal Adviser for the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Program.

“Our training today should help the Uzbek justice system to provide greater access to justice in relation to economic, social and cultural rights to ensure respect, protection and observance of human rights in Uzbekistan, including through the justice system,” he added.

Dilshod Aripov, Deputy Director of the Higher School of Judges, briefly spoke about the activities of the Higher School of Judges (HSC) and recent reforms in the school. “The international seminar we have gathered today gives us the opportunity to interact with other organizations and bodies through the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights. Exchange of ideas and experience is a necessity of the modern world for the mutual development of the judicial system, education and society as a whole,” said Mr. Aripov.

The national trainings were organized under the project “Strengthening the role of civil society in promoting international standards in the field of economic, social and cultural rights (ACCESS)”, funded by the European Union through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). All training materials have been translated into Russian and Uzbek languages for further use. Moreover, by the end of 2020, the training materials will become publicly available for wider dissemination and promotion of international law and standards in the field of ESC rights.