Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - A delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Abat Fayzullayev took part in an anniversary event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) OSCE on the topic “ODIHR: Three Decades and Preparedness for the Future - Democracy, Human Rights and Security,” Dunyo news agency reported.

The conference was held in the historic Palace of Culture and Science in the capital of Poland - Warsaw in a hybrid format.

The event was attended by about 100 people and more than four hundred connected online, in particular from the permanent missions of the OSCE participating States in Vienna, mainly at the level of heads of diplomatic missions, specialists from the OSCE Secretariat and other institutions, as well as experts on human rights and various non-governmental organizations.

Within the framework of the thematic sessions, the results of three decades of ODIHR’s work to promote human rights and democracy were summed up, and the future promising role of the Bureau in this direction was discussed. At the sessions, the participants also considered ways to intensify efforts by states to strengthen democratic processes in line with their OSCE commitments as they emerge from the global pandemic.

The opening of the event was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Swedish OSCE Chairmanship, Ann Linde, the Director of the ODIHR, Matteo Mecacci, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Shimon Senkowski.

The delegation of Uzbekistan spoke at a separate session of the event at the level of permanent representatives. The participants were informed in detail about the large-scale reform program implemented by the leadership of Uzbekistan over the past five years, the thorough preparations for the upcoming presidential elections, as well as the current state of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the ODIHR. 

In particular, it is indicated that the large-scale and dynamic democratic reforms carried out in Uzbekistan in recent years have now become irreversible and the basis of democratic transformations is, first of all, the provision and protection of human rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.

Detailed information is provided on the implementation of international human rights standards in national legislation and law enforcement practice, as well as important initiatives put forward by the republic in the field of human rights in the international arena.

The attention of the participants was also drawn to the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan and the participation of the OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission in them.

It was noted that at the invitation of the CEC of Uzbekistan, the ODIHR deployed its full-fledged mission to observe the election of the head of our state. The mission will have about 250 observers, including 28 long-term and more than 200 short-term. At the same time, it was emphasized that all processes are carried out openly, transparently and on the basis of the national electoral legislation and the terms specified in it.

OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margarita Sederfelt and others also spoke among other high-level speakers in the panel discussions.

In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, a separate meeting of the head of the delegation of Uzbekistan with the director of the ODIHR Matteo Mecacci took place.

During the talks, the parties exchanged views on the current level of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the OSCE / ODIHR and outlined promising areas of interaction within the mandate of the Office. In particular, the readiness of the ODIHR was expressed to continue assisting the republic in the democratization processes, further reforming the judicial and legal system, working out legislative acts, and improving the electoral system.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to the preparation for the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan and the participation in them of a full-fledged ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

Matteo Mecacci highly appreciated the level of interaction of the Uzbek side with the ODIHR Election Observation Mission deployed in Uzbekistan. According to him, the Mission receives full assistance in the process of observing the election campaign, and all favorable conditions have been created for the work of long-term and short-term observers of the ODIHR.

At the end of the meeting, the ODIHR director announced plans to personally visit Uzbekistan to observe the presidential elections in Uzbekistan. According to him, as a rule, the Director of the Bureau heads the official ODIHR election observation delegations only in those countries whose governments demonstrate support to the OSCE observer missions.

The parties agreed that his upcoming visit to Uzbekistan will signal to the international community about significant progress in the implementation of the reform program in Uzbekistan.