Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Director of the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (NCHR) Akmal Saidov held a meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism Fionnuala Ní Aoláin on 29 November 2021.

Over the past five years, the NCHR’s partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and its Central Asia Regional Office has reached a high level that can serve as an example for other countries. This consistent collaboration is yielding significant results. Uzbekistan was elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council and entered membership on 1 January 2021. The Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations has been elected Vice President of the UN Human Rights Council and will take office in 2022.

In this sense, this meeting within the framework of the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin to Uzbekistan is a logical and consistent continuation of practical contacts. The National Center is always interested in large-scale cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights.

During the meeting, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin expressed satisfaction with the radical strengthening of the partnership in recent years. She highly appreciated the active participation of the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2021, as well as in the seminar "Rehabilitation and reintegration of women and children evacuated from conflict zones." As you know, more than 500 women and children were delivered to Uzbekistan from Syria, Iraq and other countries within the framework of the "Mehr-1, 2, 3, 4, 5" operations carried out on behalf of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

This humanitarian movement of Uzbekistan is carried out in accordance with the main international documents in the field of human rights, as well as the principles of international humanitarian law. The most important thing, as the UN Special Rapporteur noted during the meeting, is that the issues of repatriation, protection and reintegration of women and children who left for areas of armed conflict are resolved at the national level.

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin also stressed that today not all countries are engaged in the evacuation of their citizens from the conflict zones and the national experience of Uzbekistan in this direction can serve as an example to follow.

During the talks, the sides also discussed the prospects for cooperation in the fight against terrorism. At the same time, attention was paid to the formation and strengthening of the national potential of Uzbekistan in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism at the international, regional and bilateral levels.

Uzbekistan is one of the active participants in the fight against international terrorism. Our country has supported the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and has ratified 14 international conventions and protocols on combating terrorism and religious extremism. A number of national regulations have also been adopted in this regard.

Recognizing that Uzbekistan is a leader in the field of lawmaking and initiative in the adoption of international documents, the UN Special Rapporteur suggested using this high potential in defining the concept of "terrorism". It was noted that at present the main conventions on the fight against terrorism and the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council do not contain a clear definition of this term.

The parties also discussed in detail the prospects for cooperation in the field of promoting and protecting human rights, exchanged views on issues such as preventing terrorism, observing human rights in the fight against terrorism, ensuring the rights of victims of terrorism and prisoners accused of terrorism.

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin has been the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism of the UN Human Rights Council since 1 August 2017. To date, she has visited Belgium (May 2018), France (May 2018) and Kazakhstan (May 2019).