Response to the Report of the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Ambassador Pierre von Arx
As delivered by Ambassador Michael Carpenter
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
March 31, 2022
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ambassador von Arx, dear Pierre, welcome to the Permanent Council. We greatly appreciate your thorough report. Uzbekistan’s strong cooperation with the OSCE Project Coordinator across all three dimensions is commendable, and we encourage you to build on this solid foundation to expand your work even further.
I want to commend the Program Office in Uzbekistan for facilitating the growing cooperation between the government and ODIHR on a broad spectrum of human dimension issues ranging from criminal justice reform to electoral reform to the elimination of all forms of torture. We are pleased that Uzbekistan ratified the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – that’s a big step. We also encourage the government of Uzbekistan to implement the recommendations of the OSCE Election Observation Mission and to respond to concerns raised by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Ambassador, we commend your work on promoting the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, including gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and capacity building to prevent and respond to domestic violence. This is very important work. The work of the Project Coordinator to support public discussions on this issue resulted in the drafting of Uzbekistan’s first National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which we commend.
Your activities to support the reintegration and rehabilitation of returnees from conflict zones; to enhance cybersecurity; to promote legal literacy; to strengthen parliamentary financial oversight of the security sector; to combat corruption and cybercrime; to strengthen anti-money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism; and to promote a green economy all assist Uzbekistan to build greater resilience and uphold its international law obligations and OSCE commitments.
We greatly appreciate your vital work and solid cooperation with the government of Uzbekistan. We look forward to continuing to support you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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