Transitions Online
November 4

The opening of a local office of a leading international human rights organization has triggered a bitter exchange between foreign diplomats and Uzbek officials over the situation in the country.

Freedom House, a U.S.-based international nongovernmental organization (NGO), held a ceremony on October 17 to mark the opening of its Tashkent office, which plans to support activities in the area of human rights protection. Founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie, Freedom House is one of the oldest international human rights NGOs in the United States.

The director of the new office, Sikeena Karmali, said at the ceremony that the organization's aim is to cooperate with and support Uzbek human rights defenders, to create the necessary conditions for their activities, and to encourage friendly relations between human rights NGOs. Representatives from the Uzbek government, embassies, and public institutions attended the opening, along with independent human rights activists, local reporters, and foreign journalists.

The tone of this initial event made clear that Freedom House will not shy away from staging public gatherings critical of the Uzbek authorities. Ambassadors from the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom all spoke, with U.S. diplomat John Herbst citing some recent progress in human rights and other fields. “Unfortunately,” he said, “there have also been steps backwards.” Herbst mentioned the refusal of the country's Justice Ministry to register the Ezgulik Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan and the recent death of one prisoner in police custody.

Uzbekistan's poor attitude toward human rights

While other officials at the ceremony spoke rather diplomatically regarding human rights, the UK envoy, Craig Murray, did not mince words. In a blistering attack uncharacteristic of—and unprecedented for—an ambassador, Murray asserted that authorities had not registered a single opposition organization and continued to oppress independent human rights organizations.

He then charged that between 7,000 and 8,000 innocent citizens had been imprisoned under the pretext of the fight against terrorism and that such practices continue. In regard to freedom of speech, Murray said that though censorship had formally been removed, the result was still the same, as officials pressure the media in other ways.

Government authorities responded by questioning Murray’s role in Uzbekistan, saying he is an official representative of his country and not that of a human rights organization who could speak out so harshly against the government.

The heat on the government’s record did not get any cooler with a visit the next day, October 18, by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. After meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Annan dwelt at length on the necessity of observing human rights. “We discussed how to improve the governance of the country and noted the need to initiate close cooperation between the high commissioner on human rights and the Uzbek government,” he said at a press conference.

Annan also announced that the UN special rapporteur on torture would be visiting Uzbekistan in the near future at Tashkent's invitation. The rapporteur intends to cooperate closely with the Uzbek authorities in an investigation of two deaths at the Jaslyk prison in August.

Although local courts convicted seven police officers and security agents in the killings of the two Islamist prisoners, many other deaths and countless reports of torture by law enforcement officials remain unresolved. Uzbek officials have introduced no legal safeguards against torture, despite recommendations set out by international monitoring organizations.

The situation has exasperated many representatives of local and foreign NGOs, who believed progress would be much faster after Uzbekistan joined the US- led anti-terrorism coalition. Instead, they say, the authorities have continued to persecute people for their beliefs, equating all devoted followers of Islam with terrorists. Prior to Annan’s arrival in Central Asia, the New York-based Human Rights Watch had called on the UN secretary-general to push for real reform and registration of NGOs throughout the region.

Karimov, however, angrily defended his country’s record after Annan’s remarks at the press conference. The president then moved on to fault the United Nations for what he claimed was a lack of support in the field of security. He said that Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole do not feel they have received substantial support from the UN for ensuring stability in the region.

"It's not a secret that many UN decisions remain on a scrap of paper and do not have any serious influence. These are, above all, questions of security, peace, and stability in the world,” he added.

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