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Uzbek experts study the UK experience of human rights protection

Bill Bowring, Professor of Law in University of London visited Tashkent on 24-26 October 2013.

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Bill Bowring, Professor of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London

Bill Bowring, Professor of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London, a practising barrister and an internationally recognized expert in human rights, visited Tashkent on 24-26 October 2013 at the invitation of the National Human Rights Centre of Uzbekistan (NHRC). Professor Bowring held a range of fruitful meetings with Uzbek officials and experts to share the UK experience in the protection of human rights. The visit was sponsored by the British Embassy in Tashkent.

On 24-25 October Professor Bowring attended an international conference organized by the NHRC with Uzbek and foreign experts. They discussed the development of human rights mechanisms in Uzbekistan and international best practice. During the conference Professor Bowring gave a presentation on UK legislation and institutions on the protection of human rights. He also participated in a meeting between the NHRC and agencies of the United Nations on the implementation of recommendations following the Universal Periodic Review of Uzbekistan before the UN Human Rights Council in April 2013.

Professor Bowring also spoke to the Training Centre for Lawyers under the Uzbek Ministry of Justice. He delivered a lecture on the British judicial system and the training of legal professionals in the UK to future judges, practising lawyers, staff of the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of the Interior and academics.

On 26 October Her Majesty’s Ambassador, George Edgar, and Professor Bowring visited the Office of Authorised Person of the Uzbek Parliament for Human Rights (Ombudsman). Professor Bowring gave a presentation on the UK experience since 2009 in establishing a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). Uzbek officials and legal experts from state agencies discussed the establishment of an Uzbek NPM in the context of the review of Uzbekistan’s Fourth Periodic Report by the UN Committee against Torture.

Published 31 October 2013