Tag Archives: rights and freedoms

UN rights chief praises Uzbekistan

MAY 10/11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, finished a tour of Uzbekistan by saying that in general he was confident that the country, often derided as one of the worst in the world for human rights, had started to mend its ways.

Mr Zeid’s visit was the first by a UN Human Rights Commissioner to Uzbekistan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It has been viewed as a turning point in Uzbek relations with international institutions and a major PR victory for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev who has been looking to woo global institutions.

In a statement at the end of his two night trip to Uzbekistan, Mr Zeid said that he had been impressed by the new Uzbek administration’s endeavor setting up a series of units to improve human rights.

“Uzbekistan is, in my view, at a crossroads. The volume of constructive human rights related proposals, plans and new legislation that has emerged since President Mirziyoyev took up the office is remarkable,” he said.

“It is going to be a long and difficult road to get near that point [improved human rights], with obstructions and setbacks, but I do believe the journey has begun.”

The New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a statement afterwards saying that Uzbekistan’s rhetoric now needed to be turned into action.

Mr Mirziyoyev, inviting Mr Zeid to tour Uzbekistan was a risk. In the end, though, he appears to have impressed Mr Zeid. He wants to improve Uzbekistan’s image to give it access to finance, which is increasingly linked to human rights, and gain more acceptance.

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(News report from Issue No. 329, published on May 20 2017)

Kyrgyz President withdraws libel case against RFE/RL

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MAY 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev asked the country’s Prosecutor-General to withdraw a libel case against the local service of the US- funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website. Earlier this year the Prosecutor-General had said it was pressing libel charges against REF/RL and zanoza.kg for insulting the president, drawing accusations of a free speech clamp- down. The charges against zanoza.kg have not been withdrawn.

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(News report from Issue No. 329, published on May 20 2017)

Kazakhstan jails trade union leader

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MAY 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan jailed trade union leader Amin Yeleusinov, the second senior union official to be imprisoned in the past two months. Yeleusinov was imprisoned for two years for stealing property. He is banned from union activities for five years and has to pay a $26,300 fine. New York-based Human Rights Watch said that the prison sentence was political and designed to undermine the trade union movement which has gained prominence over the past few years. A court outlawed a major trade union group at the start of the year.

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(News report from Issue No. 329, published on May 20 2017)

UN human rights chief visits Uzbekistan

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MAY 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, started a tour of Uzbekistan, the first since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Mr Zeid met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan leader since September and the man credited with opening up the country, at the start of his trip.

During their 1-1/2 meeting, Mr Zeid urged Mr Mirziyoyev to show restraint in his campaign to root out radical Islamists.

“As in other countries, I have emphasized that the answer to the risk of radicalisation is not simply heavy-handed security measures and repressive policies which breed resentment and frustration, thereby making it easier for extremists to recruit new supporters,” he was quoted by Voice of America as saying.

Mr Mirziyoyev took over from Islam Karimov who was loathed by human rights activists for ordering soldiers to shoot and kill anti- government in Andijan, in the east of the country, in 2005 and for locking up his political opponents.

Analysts, though, cautioned that major policy changes were unlikely.

“Important economic reforms are currently underway, but the Uzbek administration, in close proximity with the powerful Uzbek security services, will not risk giving any oxygen to the political situation under which thousands of prisoners have been incarcerated for dissent for nearly two decades,” said Kate Mallinson, a Central Asia analyst.

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(News report from Issue No. 328, published on May 12 2017)

HRW praises new Kyrgyz domestic violence laws

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BISHKEK, MAY 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) praised Kyrgyzstan for introducing new laws surrounding domestic violence, describing them as setting an important new standard for the region.

Activists have complained that domestic violence has largely gone unchecked and ignored by the male- dominated societies of Central Asia. They consider the introduction of the laws which make reporting domestic violence easier, as reported in issue 327 of The Conway Bulletin, to be groundbreaking.

Hillary Margolis, women’s rights researcher at HRW, said: “By enacting this new law, the Kyrgyz government has shown a commitment to the rights of domestic abuse victims and is setting a standard that others in the region should follow.”

The new laws improve protection for the victims of domestic violence and also validate that a complaint made by anybody about domestic violence has to be investigated by the police. Previously only a complaint by the direct victim had to be investigated and often these victims were reluctant to come forward.

HRW said that domestic violence was widespread in Kyrgyzstan, affecting a third of women. It said that only around half the cases were reported and, even then, only 7% were referred to courts as criminal cases.

It is a similar story across the region. Last year, in Kazakhstan, the issue of domestic violence was thrust into the mainstream when the popular TV host Bayan Yessentayeva was beaten by her husband at a petrol station outside Almaty. In subsequent interviews, women’s rights campaigners described domestic abuse as rampant because of a mix of heavy drinking and macho attitudes which subjugate women.

Referring to Kyrgyzstan, HRW said that the new laws needed to be backed-up by a change to the mindset.

“The new domestic violence law will only be meaningful if its promise is backed by action to make better protection for victims a reality,” Ms Margolis, from HRW, said.

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(News report from Issue No. 328, published on May 12 2017)

Azerbaijani court considers blocking critical websites

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MAY 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Azerbaijan has started considering the government’s request to block access to a range of websites that it considers to be excessively critical, including the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Media freedom activists have said that the move is a blatant attack on free speech. The US and the EU have clashed with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev over his treatment of the media and opposition activists.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Domestic violence law in Kyrgyzstan becomes strengthened

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APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev signed into law a bill that is designed to strengthen legislation against domestic violence. The new law obliges police to investigate all reports of domestic violence even if the complaint was not filed by the victim.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Kyrgyz president admin. files another law suit against media group

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APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Independent Kyrgyz news website Zanoza.kg said that the Kyrgyz Presidential Administration had filed a fifth lawsuit against it for allegedly offending the dignity of Pres. Almazbek Atambayev. Media campaigners have said that press freedom is being squeezed in Kyrgyzstan, once held up as a bastion of free press in Central Asia.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Azerbaijani court extends ex-minister’s jail sentence

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APRIL 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku extended a prison sentence against former Azerbaijani health minister Ali Isanov by seven years for allegedly harbouring drugs in prison and scuffling with guards. Isanov, who has been in prison since 2005 said that the new charges had been fabricated. He was imprisoned for plotting a coup.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Kazakhstan to close Radiotochka

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APRIL 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Radiotochka, one of the few remaining independent media outlets in Kazakhstan, will close because of a combination of financial and political pressure. Last year its editor, Bigeldy Gabdullin, was arrested for extorting bribes from officials. His deputy editor fled the country shortly afterwards.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)f