OSCE helps foster co-operation between Uzbekistan's Ombudsman, law-enforcement agencies on human rights

KHIVA, Uzbekistan, 11 June 2008 - Closer co-operation between the Ombudsman and Uzbek judicial and law-enforcement agencies on human rights issues is the focus of a workshop that started in the Khorezm Region of Uzbekistan today.

The event, organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman), also marks the 60th anniversary of adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It brought together representatives of the regional departments of the Interior and Justice Ministries, the Prosecutor's Office, judges, lawyers and non-governmental organizations.

As of 1 January, Uzbekistan abolished the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment. The new legislation also introduced habeas corpus, under which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention for themselves or another person.

It is an important instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary state action, said Bernard Rouault, Senior Project Officer at the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. "Today's workshop will provide an opportunity to exchange views on the new role that the Ombudsman Institution can play in this respect," he added.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan will hold a series of workshops in different regions of the country in 2008 and 2009 as part of a project aimed at building the capacity of the Ombudsman Institution. An international conference on the interaction of the Ombudsman with judicial and executive bodies, organized by the OSCE in Tashkent in September 2007, will serve as the foundation for the regional workshops.