Samarkand, 22 November - Representatives of  the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA), the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Uzbekistan, the UNDP Country Office in Uzbekistan, the UNDP Regional Hub in Istanbul, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, national and foreign experts, representatives of national governments, parliaments, judicial system, national mechanisms’ for reporting and follow up (NMRFs), national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, mass media representatives and representatives of the international and regional inter-governmental organization, representatives of different countries  convened in Samarkand at a two-day forum to reaffirm the commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Human Dimension Commitments of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and their importance in the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in today’s Asian region.

The Asian Forum on Human Rights held for the first time in the Asia region from 22 to 23 November and would be one of the largest gatherings on human rights issues.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has sent a congratulatory message and sincere wishes to participants of the Asian Forum on Human Rights. The message of the President of Uzbekistan read Mr. Nigmatulla Yuldshev,  Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan.

Opening remarks delivered by Michael Møller, Director-General of United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Central Asia, George Tsereteli, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Sergei Lebedev, Chairman of the Executive Committee- Executive Secretarty of the Commonwealth of the Independent States and Adam Abdelmoula, Director of the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisims Division, OHCHR, Geneva.  

The opening ceremony was moderated by Mr. Akmal Saidov, Director of the National Human Rights Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Furthemore, Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. António Guterres and Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, H.E. Mr. Martin Chungong sent their video statements to the participants of the Asian Forum on Human Rights.

Within the framework of the Asian Forum on Human Rights, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Coordinator of the OSCE project in Uzbekistan.

Discussions in the first two days will be organized into four plenary sessions and three thematic working groups on human rights issues.

It should be noted that Asian Forum on Human Rights serves for participants to share their experiences as well as an opportunity to strengthen bonds for further cooperation in the field of human rights.