Uzbekistan’s Human Rights Experience to Be Presented in Lisbon

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Third International Seminar of the International Network of National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up (NMIRF) is being held in Lisbon on 26–27 January 2026. The Network brings together government bodies responsible for implementing international human rights standards.

The seminar is organized by Portugal’s National Human Rights Committee with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The event brings together representatives of national human rights mechanisms, international organizations, UN system bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society and academic communities from different regions of the world.

The seminar program includes a presentation by Akmal Saidov, Director of the National Human Rights Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who is presenting Uzbekistan’s experience as an example of best practice in inter-agency coordination, the digitalization of monitoring of recommendations issued by international human rights mechanisms, parliamentary oversight, and civil society participation in follow-up processes.

A fundamentally important step in strengthening this system at the institutional level was the inclusion of Article 56 in the new Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This provision establishes that national human rights institutions complement existing forms and means of protecting human rights and freedoms, contribute to the development of civil society, and help foster a culture of human rights. The Constitution also explicitly assigns the state the obligation to create the necessary conditions for the establishment and effective functioning of national human rights institutions.

The Republic of Uzbekistan is the only Central Asian country invited to present its national experience, reflecting international recognition of the progress achieved in strengthening national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, as well as in the practical implementation of international human rights obligations.

Within the framework of plenary sessions and thematic panels, seminar participants are discussing the role of NMIRFs in ensuring the practical implementation of recommendations from UN treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, the use of digital tools to track recommendations, the development of regional and interregional networks, and mechanisms for engaging parliaments, national human rights institutions and civil society.

The seminar contributes to deepening international dialogue on the establishment and strengthening of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, consolidating the International NMIRF Network, and the formal adoption of the International NMIRF Network Action Plan for 2026–2031, developed on the basis of the Asunción Declaration and the Marrakech Guidance Framework.