National dialogue on human rights protection in the context of restrictions introduced due to COVID-19

The National Human Rights Center, jointly with the United Nations Country Team in Uzbekistan and the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator’s Office in Uzbekistan, convened a National Dialogue on human rights protection in the context of restrictions introduced due to COVID-19.

The dialogue followed the visit by a delegation of UN and OSCE officials to the quarantine center in Urtasaray on 24 June, organized by the Deputy Prime Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov and the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Director of the National Human Rights Center, Professor Akmal Saidov.

During the National Dialogue, speakers from the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, the Children's Ombudsman, an expert from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the vice-chairman of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture, a specialist from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and two independent civil society representatives shared lessons learned and recommendations arising from the experience of Uzbekistan and global perspectives.

The Republic of Uzbekistan, like the entire international community, is facing the most serious challenge to humanity in modern history - the pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19. Thanks to the timely anti-epidemic measures taken by the Government of Uzbekistan, the country is working intensively to minimize the effects of the pandemic.

In order to counter the spread of the coronavirus infection, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev adopted the Order on the creation of a Special Republican Commission to prepare a program of measures to prevent the import and spread of a new type of coronavirus in the country. Subsequently, decisions were made to suspend air, rail and road communications with other states, and to close pre-school, secondary and higher educational institutions. A progressive package of economic measures has been adopted to mitigate the impact of the crisis on relatively vulnerable sectors of the economy. An Anti-Crisis Fund under the Ministry of Finance has been created with an initial amount of 10 trillion soums ($1 billion). Business and entrepreneurship entities were granted tax holidays, a number of other tax benefits and deferred loan payments. Social assistance was organized for the most vulnerable groups of the population.

To effectively combat coronavirus in all regions of the republic, specialized medical institutions and quarantine zones have been organized. In the Tashkent region, a specialized quarantine zone for 20 thousand places was commissioned, 10 thousand of which have already been put into operation. The construction of a modern modular clinic with 10 thousand beds has been completed.

At the same time, comprehensive stimulation and provision of social protection for medical workers, who are at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus and are the first to take the blow, have been strengthened.

In order to ensure clear public communications help prevent the spread of the disease, a wide-ranging information campaign is ongoing among the population, including using social networks. Measures are being taken to return citizens of Uzbekistan who are abroad.

During the meeting, participants discussed the latest UN quarantine guidelines, including: “WHO Guidelines for Quarantining Individuals in the Context of Containing Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)” dated March 19, 2020, which stipulates that “constructive interaction with the public is important [...], and Quarantined persons should receive medical assistance, financial, social and psychosocial support; their basic needs, including the need for food, water and other vital products, must be met. Priority should be given to the needs of vulnerable populations.” The WHO Guidelines also recommend that “quarantined individuals should be able to communicate with the outside world and, if possible, should be provided with access to the Internet, news resources and entertainment programs.”

In addition, participants took note of the recommendation of the UN Human Rights Committee on the derogation of rights related to COVID-19 that “states [...] cannot derogate from their obligation to treat all people, including individuals [...] in prison, with humanity and respect for their human dignity.”

As the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Director of the National Center for Human Rights of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov noted, “the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed the fact that a number of governments and international organizations are taking important steps to mitigate the impact of the fight against the COVID- 19 on human rights, especially economic and social rights. In this regard, it is worth noting that in our country all the necessary measures are being taken to eliminate this threat. Most importantly, this is primarily due to the requirement that human interests take precedence over everything else.”

“I highly appreciate the active efforts of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantine zones clearly played an important role among various public health measures, as we can see from the fact that over the past month a significant majority of all new cases have been detected in these zones. International community can certainly learn from this experience.” stated Ambassador John MacGregor, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. “I also welcome today's open dialogue on how human rights-based zone management can be further strengthened to fulfill the OSCE commitments, relevant international legal commitments and best practices. We look forward to working with the government to implement some of the recommendations made today.”

“This event provided a useful opportunity to reflect on the importance of aligning public health measures with international health rules and human rights standards and obligations,” said Helena Fraser, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan. “It also allowed an exchange of views between the government, international organizations and a separate group of civil society representatives on measures to strengthen the protection of the rights of persons in quarantine institutions, such as ensuring the establishment of an independent feedback and complaints mechanism so that persons in quarantine institutions can promptly communicate about their health, mental and physical well-being and thus receive timely support. We heard about the willingness of civil society volunteers to carry out coordination functions between the administrations of quarantine institutions and the persons placed in them. Constructive engagement of the Government with volunteers is a great way to ensure that the SDG principles for an accountable, participatory and consultative decision-making process are ensured with respect to quarantine facilities. I welcome the willingness of the government to share positive lessons that can be learned from the experience of quarantine institutions, as well as its openness to identify issues for further improvement. Transparency is paramount and can save lives in times of health crisis.”