Voices from the PCUz: Mirza Ulugbek Abdullaev

You are in a position of much responsibility in the Project Co-ordinator's Office in Uzbekistan. How did you become involved in this type of work? What is your background?

It was a long journey! When I was a child, I had a dream to become a diplomat. I studied international law and diplomatic and consular law at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. After graduation and before becoming an OSCE official, I worked at the President's Administration, Ministry of Justice, UNDP, and in the private sector.

Now, I can proudly say that I am an international civil servant who contributes to the development of Uzbekistan through the implementation of the OSCE commitments. I am also helping to make the OSCE and its important work more well known.

Most of the people in my country do not know much about the OSCE and the valuable work we do. Most of them are not aware of our comprehensive approach to security and think that we are mostly dealing with elections, human rights and freedom-related issues. But our Organization does so much more, and I am happy to do my bit to let more people know that.

Tell us a little more about your work in the Project Co-ordinator's Office. What are some of the issues you work on? What have been some of the achievements?

I am part of the office on Political and Military Dimension. Our main goal is to assist the government of Uzbekistan in the implementation of the OSCE principles and commitments in the politico-military field, including fighting against terrorism and other transnational threats, and contributing to security and stability in the host country.

Over the years, our team of one international and five local mission members have had many great achievements. There are three I would like to highlight from the last two years:

• In 2019, our office initiated a legal review of various pieces of legislation on mass communication, information technologies and the use of the Internet in Uzbekistan. The aim was to assess their compliance with international standards and OSCE human dimension commitments. This resulted in significant reforms improving internet governance-related legislation.
• In 2021, our joint work with key national stakeholders led to the President of Uzbekistan's approval of the first ever National Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Countering Extremism and Terrorism for 2021-2026;
• In 2022, we helped train more than 1,000 representatives of state and non-state institutions on a range of security aspects.

What would you say are the most challenging concerns that you are currently dealing with in Uzbekistan and why?

I think we are all working for the OSCE in very challenging times and we have to seize every opportunity to make the world a better and safer place for our children.

Recognizing the importance of joining efforts to address the threats posed by terrorism, all five Central Asian countries adopted the Joint Action Plan to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in 2011. Our office actively supports this plan by helping national stakeholders to strengthen their capacities to effectively respond to terrorism and violent extremism. Of course, this work is done in a human rights compliant way, based on the rule of law principles and integrating gender aspects.

Another important area is promoting the OSCE Cyber/ICT Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), which allow states to "read" the activities of other states in cyberspace and determine the so-called "red lines". These measures ensure timely communication and co-operation to relieve potential tensions arising from the use of information and communication technologies and assist the development of trusted "neighborhood cyber-relations".

More broadly, it is also of the utmost importance to us to make sure law enforcement agencies know how to effectively counter cybercrime. It is expected that global cybercrime costs will grow by 15 percent per year over the next years, reaching US $10.5 trillion by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015. This would be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined and creates a lucrative business that discourages innovation and investment. Addressing this remains an important area of our support.

In your view, what is the most important thing OSCE participating States could do to combat transnational threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, and cyber-attacks?

Nowadays OSCE participating States face challenges that they cannot cope with on their own. 2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, and if we look at the document, we can see that all the important things are already there!

It is more important than ever to implement all those key principles and make the OSCE more effective by promoting co-operation and building trust. And last but not least, participating States should provide the OSCE and its entities, including field missions, with the necessary financial and human resources to enable us to carry out our tasks arising from OSCE commitments.

How does regional co-operation in Central Asia fit into achieving stability and security in the OSCE area? What role does the Project Co-ordinator play?

Regional co-operation will not only make the region of Central Asia more resilient to the transnational threats, but will also boost economic development in all five countries.

I think former OSCE Secretary General Greminger, who is now Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, said it well when he wrote this year: “If you had looked at the world through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) lens, you would have had Central Asia, not exclusively through the Afghanistan issue only. I perceive Central Asia as a region that is becoming more relevant, more dynamic, and more interested in regional co-operation".

I completely agree with his analysis. Throughout Central Asia, we can see how co-operation has enhanced efforts related to all aspects of security, from the political and military to economic and environmental to the human dimension.

Our Office has been promoting co-operation, based on the priorities of the host country, as a way to address jointly existing challenges and threats to security. By tapping into Central Asia's big potential for strong co-operation, we can help build a better future for us all, and our Office will continue to do its part in supporting that.