Presentation of the Ombudsman’s capacity assessment report

March 27, 2019

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On 14 March 2019, the the Report on Capacity Assessment of the Ombudsman Institution of Uzbekistan, an exercise that was facilitated by the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (the APF), the Istanbul Regional Hub of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Human Rights Office for Central Asia  was launched at the Development Strategy Center in Tashkent. The launch was attended by representatives of the Parliament, the Government, civil society, international organizations and the UK Embassy.

At the opening of the event U. Mukhammadiev, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman), E.Tulyakov, Director of the Development Strategy Centre, H. Fraser, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, R. Komenda, Regional Representative of the UN Human Rights Office for Central Aosia, Ambassador J.MacGregor, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, M. Baum, Deputy Head of the Political and Public Diplomacy Section of the British Embassy in Tashkent and R. Noonan, ATF Senior Envoy for Capacity Assessment Methodology (online) delivered interventions relating to the capacity assessment exercise and the resulting findings and recommendations.

The capacity assessment exercise was carried out from 25 September 25 to 4 October  2018, with interviews and meeting conducted in three cities of Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand) on the basis of the Global Principles for Assessing the Capacity of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), developed by a partnership of  the APF, UNDP and OHCHR, and having been used in different countries. The exercise became possible thanks to the financial support of the British Embassy in Tashkent.

The purpose of the capacity assessment was to provide a thorough analysis of the current strengths and capacity gaps of the Ombudsman’s Office and the degree of fulfillment of its legal mandate to promote and protect human rights in Uzbekistan. The unique nature of this exercise is that it is not an external audit, but a voluntary self-assessment of the work of the Ombudsman’s Office, conducted directly by employees, the management team and regional representatives of the Ombudsman conducted with facilitation of the experts representing three organizations listed above (APF, UNDP and OHCHR).

The self-assessment process included:

  • analysis of relevant documents and reports;
  • discussions held with the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, staff of the Ombudsman and his regional  representatives;
  • interviews with government authorities and civil society organizations in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara;
  • identification of the main existing gaps,
  • completion and analysis of a self-assessment questionnaire on key thematic areas identified by the team of facilitators.  The Ombudsman and all Office’s staff members provided quantitative and qualitative replies regarding the current and the targeted capacity of the Office.

S. Khamidullaev, Deputy Ombudsman of Uzbekistan, during the public launch of the Capacity Assessment Report, described main findings and recommendations contained therein.

Thus, the Capacity Assessment confirmed that the Ombudsman’s institution has strong legal basis and strong arguments in favor of increasing resources that would enable it to fully fulfill its legal mandate to promote and protect human rights in Uzbekistan. The recent adoption by the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Law on the National Preventive Mechanism, which provides for the expansion of the powers of the Ombudsman to conduct preventive monitoring of places of detention, demonstrates clear efforts of the state authorities in this regard. Further increase of resources and strengthening powers of the Ombudsman will create even more opportunities to promote and protect human rights of everyone in Uzbekistan. The UN system intends to provide further support to the Ombudsman and his office in the implementation of the NPM Law, while reminding Uzbekistan of the importance of ratifying the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

The Capacity Assessment team has identified the following overall priorities:

1. Strengthening the core institutional capacity of the Ombudsman’s Office;

2. Increased regional presence of the Ombudsman office;

3. Increasing the ability to effectively promote human rights at the national cultural context;

4. Empowering effective and systematic protection of human rights;

5. Continue building the Office’s capacity for collaboration at the national, regional and international levels.

Among 18 actions to implement these priorities, it is worth noting the recommendation to develop a Plan for Human Rights Education, aimed at specific communities throughout Uzbekistan. The Ombudsman’s Office has been recommended to develop systematic and standardized training for all staff of the Ombudsman’s office that should include human rights monitoring documenting, conducting interviews, maintaining records, including with a gender perspective, and visiting detention centers. Moreover, an important recommendation is the expansion of cooperation and interaction with various civil society organizations, including human rights defenders. As is known, being a key element of the national human rights protection system, the Ombudsman plays the role of an important “bridge” in society - linking the government, parliament, various other government agencies, academic and research centers, civil society, international, regional and national systems for the protection of human rights.

The Capacity Assessment also drew attention to the need to strengthen  capacity of the Office of the Ombudsman in its cooperation with the United Nations human rights mechanisms through the submission of alternative reports to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and treaty bodies, reporting to the mandate holders of the UN Special Procedures, and speaking out in support of future visits by Special Procedure mandate holders. The Ombudsman is encouraged to promote and monitor implementation of the recommendations made by the UN human rights mechanisms for Uzbekistan. In light of the current discussions on the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, recommended during the UPR, the Ombudsman plays an important role in monitoring a wide range of human rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities.

At the end of the event, participants discussed gaps identified in the Capacity Assessment Report and formulated recommendations suggested for further follow up in order to build capacity and address the capacity gaps identified during the exercise. The Capacity Assessment report will be available soon in three languages (Uzbek, English and Russian) on the official website of the Ombudsman Office inUzbekistan.