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Uzbek Civic
Leaders Meet With U.S. Officials and Attend 71st Session
of UN Human Rights Committee
On March 30, 2001, Talib Yakubov, a well-known
human rights activist from Tashkent and general secretary
of Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), and Iskandar
Khudaiberganov, chairman of Democratic Initiatives
Center, a human rights NGO, completed their visit to
the United States at the invitation of the International
League for Human Rights.
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HRSU's
Members Attend 71st Session of UN Human Rights
Committee
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The
main purpose of their trip was to attend the 71st Session
of the UN Human Rights Committee, which reviewed Uzbekistan'
compliance with the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights on March 26 and 27. (Note: the
Human Rights Committee, the UN treaty body of 18 independent
experts from different countries, which examines compliance
with the ICCPR, should not be confused with the UN Commission
on Human Rights, the annual meeting of delegates from
54 countries to discuss human rights issues and resolutions.)
Before the formal session, the League, in cooperation
with HRSU, held an informal briefing for several of
Committee's independent experts. The members were given
a short alternative report prepared jointly by HRSU
and the League in response to Uzbekistan's official
periodic report of 1999.
In
New York and Washington, Yakubov and Khudaiberganov
also met with U.S. officials, policy-makers, civic leaders
and the media about the about the wholesale attack on
human rights in Uzbekistan under the oppressive government
of President Karimov. The human rights situation in
Uzbekistan has worsened significantly in the recent
years, as Karimov's regime has exaggerated the threat
of Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism as an excuse
to jail thousands of Muslim believers and crack down
on civil and political rights.
Yakubov
and Khudaiberganov Meeting Staff of U.S. State Department's
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |
In
New York, Yakubov and Khudaiberganov gave presentations
at the law offices of Patterson, Belknap, Webb &
Tyler and Open Society Institute, and met with representatives
of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
In Washington, the Uzbek visitors had met with State
Department with the Department of Rights and Labor staff.
They also visited the office of Rep. Tom Lantos; Helsinki
Commission (CSCE) staff; the Embassy of Romania (Romania
is the current chair-in-office of OSCE); National Endowment
for Democracy; National Democratic Institute. In addition,
Yakubov and Khudaiberganov gave interviews to Radio
Liberty and Voice of America.
The
International League for Human Rights is a non-governmental
human rights group devoted to defending defenders of
human rights around the world and strengthening mechanisms
in international institutions to protect human rights.
For
more information contact Peter Zalmayev of ILHR, 212-661-0480,
ext. 100; pzalmayev@ilhr.org
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