Corporate report

Uzbekistan - country of concern: latest update 31 December 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Any incidents or events taking place after 31 December 2014 will be covered in future reports.

0.1 Latest Update: 31 December 2014

We continue to have significant concerns about the overall human rights situation in Uzbekistan, despite some positive developments over the past three months.

Conclusions from the 2014 cotton harvest were that, as in 2013, there appears to have been no systematic mobilisation of under-16s. This year there were significant efforts to reduce the presence of 16-18 year olds. However, the large-scale mobilisation of adults continued. In October, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conducted training activity under the Decent Work Country Programme for 2014-2016, which was agreed with Uzbekistan in April to support implementation of ILO Convention 105 on Forced Labour. An ILO official in Tashkent stated on 1 November that many recommendations made following the ILO monitoring of the 2013 cotton harvest were implemented this year. The government of Uzbekistan has stated its intention to move to full mechanisation of the cotton harvest.

The annual EU-Uzbekistan Human Rights Dialogue took place on 18 November. The UK contributed to these wide-ranging discussions, which included encouragement for Uzbekistan to improve the media environment, support development of independent civil society organisations, and to combat torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Both the UK and the EU called for a number of individual cases to be considered as part of the annual Constitution Day amnesty of prisoners that was announced on 14 November. Separately, on 22 October, the European Parliament (EP) passed resolution 2014/2904 on human rights in Uzbekistan. This re-stated concerns previously raised by the EP about Uzbekistan’s human rights performance in a number of areas.

In November, representatives from Human Rights Watch (HRW) made their first visit to Uzbekistan since the closure of their office in Tashkent in 2011. The British Embassy hosted a round table with them and other Embassies during the visit, which followed the publication of their report “Until the Very End”. This profiles cases of 34 individuals who have been imprisoned for what the report describes as politically-motivated charges. We have raised a number of these cases with the authorities and previously in the FCO Annual Human Rights Report.

Between October and December, there continued to be allegations in internet media and by NGOs of cases of ill-treatment of detainees. Amnesty International initiated a campaign on 19 November on behalf of Mirsobir Khamidkariev, who was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment on charges of extremism. Amnesty International raised concerns as to the fairness of Mr Khamidkariev’s trial and the lack of information provided to his family. There are also allegations that Mr Khamidkariev has been subject to torture or ill-treatment during his detention. Human Rights Watch issued a report in December about Nilufar Rahimjonova, who died in September whilst in custody serving a sentence on what human rights organisations report as politically-motivated charges. There are allegations that Ms Rahimjonova suffered ill-treatment in detention and that there has been no proper investigation into the circumstances of her death. On 12 December, the Human Rights Alliance issued a press release about Mr Akmal Takhirov who had allegedly been subject to torture whilst he was detained by law enforcement officials in Yangiyul, Tashkent.

Parliamentary elections were held on 21 December. A Limited Election Observation Mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) judged in its Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions that the elections were competently administered but lacked genuine electoral competition and debate. Four parties were registered to contest the elections, all of them supportive of and supported by the government. ODIHR noted that recent legislative amendments, in combination with minor administrative improvements and the nomination of younger candidates by all political parties, were presented as steps towards strengthening the role of parliament and creating a more competitive political environment. They did not, however, address main concerns with regard to fundamental freedoms that are critical for elections to fully meet international commitments and standards, in particular freedoms of expression and association. ODIHR also noted a widespread practice of proxy voting on behalf of several voters.

Between October and December, there continued to be allegations in internet media and by NGOs of actions by law enforcement authorities against individuals engaged in religious activities outside state-sanctioned structures.

In December, UzNews, the Germany-based internet news service, which had long been critical of the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, was reportedly closed down by its owners in response to continued cyber attacks.

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