EBRD
May 5

Over 80 representatives of Uzbek and Central Asian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) met Saturday with Jean Lemierre, President of EBRD, in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, Saturday 3 May. Mr Lemierre wanted to listen to NGO concerns prior to the Bank's annual meeting which got underway in the Central Asian city starting Sunday 4 May.

More than a dozen NGO speakers delivered presentations, most of them focused on human rights in Uzbekistan; a number spoke on concerns about the environment and impediments to economic opportunity and growth.

Some said that holding the EBRD meeting in Tashkent put the spotlight on the landlocked country, one of the poorest in the EBRD's region. There was a general feeling that Uzbekistan and Central Asia in general should be better integrated into the global community.

"We can't have sound economies without respect for human rights"

Mr Lemierre told the gathering the Bank's mandate of fostering transition to market economies and democracy in the countries of the former soviet bloc "has to be fully realised". He said the EBRD's Strategy regarding Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries "is very explicit…about human rights".

"I talk to you from the bottom of my heart," he said after hearing NGO reports regarding torture, imprisonment on political and religious grounds, capital punishment, low prices paid by the government for cotton, and environmental damage to the Aral Sea. Many of these concerns, particularly regarding torture which a report by the UN Special Rapporteur has termed "systematic" in Uzbekistan, are addressed in the EBRD's Uzbekistan Strategy.

"We can't have sound economies without respect for human rights," said Mr Lemierre after hearing the presentations. "There is no sound approach without respect of people, of small businesses, and if you don't fight against poverty." The real threat to nations "is poverty and non-respect of human rights".

Serious concerns about respect for human rights

The Uzbekistan Strategy says that only through a fuller embrace of the principles of free markets and private entrepreneurship can Uzbekistan hope to unlock its rich economic potential, which will in turn allow the EBRD to mobilise additional financial support for the country. The Strategy expresses serious concerns about the state of genuine multi-party democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights in Uzbekistan. The economy remains generally closed to competition, with a high degree of direct state involvement and control.

He told the NGOs the EBRD Board of Governors is made up of 60 governments and two European Union bodies. "We have 62 shareholders who can support countries. They also have principles of openness and respect of human rights" which they would weigh when considering funding Uzbek projects.

The EBRD will continue to closely monitor the situation in Uzbekistan

The EBRD Board has established seven economic and political benchmarks against which it will assess Uzbekistan's progress in moving toward a market economy and democracy.

"We have said we'll review the situation in a year," Mr Lemierre told the NGOs. "Normally we do this every two years but because of the dialogue with many of you, the decision is we should do it in a year."

Both the country strategy and the report on the benchmarks will be published in Russian, and the EBRD will continue to closely monitor the situation in Uzbekistan, in close consultation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as NGOs. Mr Lemierre plans another meeting with all NGOs on Tuesday following the close of the annual meeting.

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