REPORT of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) for 2006 Tashkent – 2007 2 CONTENTS of the Report of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) for 2006 pages Introduction 3 – 4 I. Improvement of the Human Rights Legislation of Uzbekistan and Monitoring of its Enforcement 4 – 12 II. Practices of Reviewing Individual Complaints and Redressing their 12 – 38 Violated Rights and Liberties III. Performance of Ombudswoman’s Regional Representatives 38 – 45 IV. Cooperation with Government Institutions and Public Sector 45 – 48 V. Information and Awareness-raising Activities 48 – 52 VI. International Human Rights Cooperation 52 - 59 Conclusion 59 -60 Annexes 61 - 69 © Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman), 2007. 3 Introduction Past Year 2006 was an intensive and event-rich year in the life of our country. Democratic course of development of our nation was reflected in the positive shifts in the judicial and legal reforms, which translated into enhanced role, independence and specialization of the courts, development of civil society spurred by the increasing public and political engagement of citizens, more robust involvement of political parties in nation-building, and advancing multilateral international cooperation featuring active economic contacts and humanitarian relations. New initiatives by Mr. Islam Karimov, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to advance the profile of political parties reflected new facets of the concept of democratization and public renewal, and ultimate objectives of reforming and modernizing the nation in the long-run have reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment to the welfare-oriented model of its development. The Uzbek development model demonstrated that pro-welfare orientation of the economy and governance need to be buttressed by effective public oversight and access of a common member of the society to the opportunities to influence decision-making, contributing to the development of prioritized dimensions of development processes. Presidential decrees on abolition of death penalty and transfer of the power to issue arrest warrants to the courts starting January 1, 2008 became a new forward-looking step towards further liberalization of policies in law enforcement. The changes and amendments made in the national legislation advance the priority of human rights to higher level, which will imminently facilitate harmonization of judicial performance, humanizing the law enforcement practices, enhanced authority of the judiciary among the people, reinforcing the principle of the rule of law and inevitable punishment for offenses, and confidence that presumption of innocence will become the norm for every law enforcement official. Changes in the Basic Law of the nation following the initiatives of nation’s leader will enable to further safeguard basic rights and freedoms stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and facilitate the performance of bodies and institutions designed to promote strict observance of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and implement international commitments in safeguarding human rights. Growing legal awareness and consciousness of the public thanks to the active reforms in political and economic fronts as well as resurgence in moral and spiritual domains encourage state institutions and public sector to focus their activities on safeguarding basic interests of all segments of the society. The reporting period became the second year in the functioning of bicameral parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan and demonstrated that the processes of further democratization in our country have become irreversible despite existing issues in nation-building typical for the countries in transition from totalitarian to democratic governance. Enhanced role and profile of the legislative branch has favorably influenced the increase in effectiveness and quality of lawmaking, and enabled to make one more step towards bringing oversight activities of the parliament while employing most democratic forms of public oversight, hence, expanding involvement of common citizens in public governance, which means active movement towards self-sufficient and self-managed civil society. It is notable that along with other national democratic institutions, which, throughout the period of their existence managed to become binding links between the government and the people, 4 parliamentary Ombudswoman has also become a tangible mechanism of democratic influence on the processes of building a fair and law-run government . But its activities in ongoing evolution amid reforms of legislative branch and administrative system in general also need to be streamlined along with clarification of the legal status of all its elements and support in resources. Taking essential regulatory steps will enable to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the activities acutely needed according to population surveys and designed to safeguard the rights and legitimate interests of all population groups and authorities. Delivering an annual report on the state of affairs in upholding and safeguarding human rights to the president, parliament, government, and public is a statutory and honorable responsibility delegated to the Ombudswoman. Early last year according to the Article 7 of the Law on the Authorized Person for Human Rights of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the first report was submitted to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and delivered to the both chambers of the Parliament according to the due procedure. In light of domestic and international practices, the report was presented to the fractions of political parties in the Legislative Chamber of the parliament, then in the Kengashs of both chambers with subsequent discussion and submission to the plenary meeting of the Legislative Chamber and session of the Senate. It is notable that the report of the parliamentary Ombudsman has been submitted immediately in the full trilingual version with specific facts, which enabled the senators and deputies to obtain full understanding of all activities of the Ombudswoman and subsequently disseminate it domestically and abroad. This report prepared in accordance to the priorities in the activities of the Authorized Person for Human Rights of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan and eleven-year period of practice and experience, contains the outcomes of the activities of parliamentary Ombudswoman in 2006, its review and summary on most typical issues in upholding human rights in Uzbekistan, findings of monitoring studies on compliance with various categories of human rights, materials on contacts with domestic partners, foreign colleagues and international organizations. I. Assistance in Improving Human Rights Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Monitoring of its Enforcement Parliamentary oversight gains particular significance amid emergence of democratic and law-run governance and building civil society. Parliamentary oversight has been acknowledged as an inherent element of democracy and ensures transparency and responsibility of the executive power, and it is an instrument to safeguard from abuses and promote human rights. Parliamentary oversight enables not only prevent human rights violations by the officials and government bodies but also enhance the effectiveness of the performance of all branches of the state apparatus. Oversight function of the parliament follows the legislative branch in its significance and largely it reflects the existing system of checks and balances. Maintaining oversight of the executive power is a function inherent to the parliament, and its implementation depends on specific political system, which, to certain extent, describes development of parliamentary institutions. The Authorized Person for Human Rights of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, having the granted powers, has a major role in performing oversight functions to promote observance of human rights legislation by facilitating not only redress of offended rights but also improvement of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the Ombudswoman is delegated the responsibility to promote effective mechanisms of state protection for human rights and freedoms, compliance and respect by government institutions, local self-governance bodies and officials. 5 Legal essence of any democratic government is shaped by the systemic nature and quality of legislation made, primarily by the safeguards of human rights and freedoms. Based on this principle, the Authorized Person continued her activities to improve human rights legislation and bring it in compliance with international standards. Review of human rights and freedoms situation in the local areas, analysis of individuals’ complaints on violations of their rights and lawful interests to the Ombudswoman enabled the Authorized Person to make her proposals on legal screening of the draft laws, making recommendations to improve existing legislation by proposing appropriate changes and amendments, remove the gaps, and propose ratification of international human rights treaties. In 2006 the Authorized Person has undertaken legal screening of a number of draft laws submitted by the committees of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan with