15th anniversary of Uzbekistan's Constitution focus of conference supported by OSCE Project Co-ordinator

TASHKENT, 28 November 2007 - The fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of Uzbekistan's Constitution and its role in ensuring human rights was the topic of an OSCE Project Co-ordinator-supported conference held yesterday in Samarkand city.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized the event in co-operation with the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) Human Rights Ombudsman, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the administration of the Samarkand region.

"Today, as reforms aimed at building a democratic civil society and legal state are taking place in Uzbekistan, it is crucially important that all officials with authority understand the essence of the reforms and act accordingly," said Bernard Rouault, Acting OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

Representatives the Uzbek Parliament, regional state structures, law enforcement agencies, judicial bodies, legal faculties and non-governmental organizations discussed the Constitution's role in ensuring human rights and state and law-enforcement agencies' role in protecting constitutional rights and freedoms. They also considered the Ombudsman's role as the Constitutional institution tasked with ensuring and protecting human rights.