Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- 169 states voted for the election of Uzbekistan to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

According to the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the UN (New York), on 13 October, within the framework of the 75th anniversary session of the UN General Assembly, 15 members of the HRC were elected for the period 2021-2023.

For the first time in the history of our country, Uzbekistan put forward its candidacy for this body and took part in the elections.

It should be noted that the nomination of our republic’s candidacy for the HRC was enshrined in the State Program for the Implementation of the Strategy of Action in Five Priority Areas of Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021, adopted at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The UN Human Rights Council is the leading and most respected international human rights body. It consists of 47 states. The Council is competent to discuss all thematic issues and situations in the field of human rights around the world. The members of the Council are elected for a three-year term by a majority vote of the delegates to the General Assembly by direct secret ballot.

During the current elections, the respective states have been nominated to fill the vacant seats by UN regional groups.

It is noteworthy that if the pre-election situation in other regional groups was characterized by a lack of competition among the claimant states, then in the group of countries of the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Republic of Uzbekistan, up until the last election day, tough competition remained - for 4 vacancies in the HRC, along with our republic, claimed by China, Nepal, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Following a secret ballot and in a tough competition, Uzbekistan received the largest number of votes from member states in its group and was elected to the HRC for the next three-year period, which begins on 1 January 2021. Along with our country, China, Nepal and Pakistan were also elected to the Council and gained the required number of votes.

The election of Uzbekistan to this authoritative body is a vivid confirmation and recognition of the wide support of the international community for the large-scale reforms being undertaken in the protection and promotion of human rights, as well as evidence of our country’s firm commitment to the goals and principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the strict observance of its international obligations in this area.

The promotion, observance and protection of human rights is considered as one of the priorities of the state policy of Uzbekistan. Today, a stable political system has been formed in the country that meets modern criteria of democracy and human rights. A unique model has been developed to ensure the systematic and consistent implementation of human rights standards in national legislation and law enforcement practice

Undoubtedly, being a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Uzbekistan will make a huge contribution to the work of this body and contribute to increasing the efficiency of its activities.