Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 24 June 2020, a visit was made by representatives of the UN, OSCE, the World Health Organization in Uzbekistan, the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the media and bloggers to the quarantine zone in Yukorichirchik district of Tashkent region. This was reported by the press service of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The purpose of the visit was to study the implementation of the recommendations of the UN and the World Health Organization on the observance of the dignities, rights and freedoms of quarantined citizens.

At the beginning of the visit, a meeting was held with senior officials working in the quarantine zone of Yukorichirchik district, as well as familiarization with the created conditions and food for citizens in the quarantine zone.

The guests were informed that to date, more than 67 thousand citizens have passed 14-day quarantine in this quarantine zone, among which 2150 cases of infection with a new type of coronavirus have been detected.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov informed about the effective experience of Uzbekistan in delimiting territories into green, yellow and red zones depending on the quarantine situation, which has no analogues in the world. According to the representative of the Government, Uzbekistan plans to resume flights with many countries. To prevent the danger of the spread of coronavirus infection from abroad, it is also planned to introduce a system of demarcation of countries depending on the quarantine situation in them.

Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov informed that appeals to the NCHR from international organizations regarding the pandemic and human rights are regularly sent to the Special Republican Commission for Combating Coronavirus, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Main Department of the Execution of Sentences of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Prosecutor General, Committee on Religious Affairs.

As an example, the Director of the Center A. Saidov cited the appeals received from the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, which were promptly sent to the Special Republican Commission, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affairs. As a result of joint efforts, about 300 citizens of Uzbekistan and over 200 citizens of Russia were returned to their homeland.

According to the OSCE Project Co-ordinator, Ambassador John McGregor in Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan’s experience in combating the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus can be an example for all states in the OSCE area. At the same time, he emphasized that according to the World Bank estimates among the OSCE member states, Uzbekistan is the only country with a forecast for an increase in GDP, which once again proves the correct policy of the President of Uzbekistan.

Comparing the experience of combating coronavirus infection between Canada and Uzbekistan, Ambassador McGregor noted that despite the almost equal population of Canada and Uzbekistan, and the introduction of equivalent quarantine measures in both countries, the number of infected people in Canada exceeded 100 thousand with a huge number of deaths. while in Uzbekistan the number of infected is a little more than 6.5 thousand, and mortality is one of the smallest in the world. According to the OSCE Project Coordinator, this fact is evidence of the effectiveness of the measures taken by Uzbekistan to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Helena Fraser, noted that in a pandemic, openness of the state plays a very important role, and this visit to the Yukorichirchik quarantine zone made it possible for us to see for ourselves that the conditions created in this zone comply with international standards of health and human rights. She also expressed great gratitude for organizing this visit and informed that in cooperation with the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan on June 26 this year an international conference is planned in the form of a videoconferencing dedicated to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Human Rights. Uzbekistan’s experience in dividing territories into green, yellow and red zones helps us a lot in indicating where we need to use more force.

Nazokat Kasimova, coordinator of projects for the protection of maternal and child health at the WHO office in Uzbekistan, informed that there is currently no rating for assessing conditions in quarantine zones among countries in the world. But at the same time, she praised the measures taken and the created conditions in the quarantine zone and emphasized that they fully comply with WHO standards.

Representatives of international organizations answered numerous questions from journalists and bloggers.