Item 6 - UPR Outcomes Uzbekistan: Oral Statement

39th session20 September 2018

Thank you Mr.President.

OMCT welcomes thereport of the working group on the UPR of Uzbekistan.

OMCT appreciates theUzbek authorities' expression of support for many of the recommendations madein the report, including in relation to the fight against torture and theprotection of human rights defenders.

In this connection,OMCT welcomes the release of human rights defenders arbitrarily detained fortheir work and the invitation to international human rights organizations tovisit the country. On torture prevention, we note the codification in 2017 ofthe prohibition to use evidence obtained through torture and the introductionin 2018 of tougher penalties for torture.

However, OMCT remainsdeeply concerned about the considerable rift between solemn declarations andtheir implementation on the ground. Reports of torture, ill-treatment andforced labor continue to emerge and many restrictions on independent civilsociety organizations remain in force, in clear violation of Uzbekistan'sobligations deriving from various international human rights treaties. Thismonth a prominent human rights defender was briefly detained and not allowed totravel to an OSCE conference in Warsaw, Poland.

OMCT asks Uzbekistan tolift all travel bans or exit visa restrictions generally, and especially forhuman rights defenders. Furthermore we call upon Uzbekistan to establish agenuine anti-torture action plan drafted with input from all relevantstakeholders, including domestic and international human rights NGOs, toovercome systematic and systemic torture in the country, including, but notlimited to: a comprehensive judicial reform to ensure effective and realsafeguards against torture, a liberalization of the prison system, theratification of OPCAT and the creation of a national preventive mechanism, aswell as the formation of an independent commission of inquiry to investigateall cases of torture since independence.

Finally, OMCT urges theauthorities of Uzbekistan to take concrete steps to ensure the fullrehabilitation of human rights defenders and activists detained and nowreleased, including access to proper medical, social and psychological support.

Thank you Mr.President.