In October 2020, Uzbekistan was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the period from 2021 to 2023. According to the resolution establishing this Council, a member country must «uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights1». In 2022, ECOM registered 80 cases of violations of the rights of LGBT people.
On the one hand, the authorities of Uzbekistan are trying to show progress in respecting human rights and even receive "recognition" from US officials before the visit of the State Department to the country.
On the other hand, the 2022 US Periodic Country Report on Human Rights Practices suggests that these "improvements" are not so optimistic and do not apply to all human rights. The report documented:
- unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial executions;
- torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by the government;
- harsh and life-threatening conditions in prison;
- arbitrary arrest or detention;
- political prisoners;
- transnational repression against individuals in another country;
- serious problems with the independence of the judiciary;
- arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy;
- serious restrictions on freedom of speech and the media, including censorship and defamation laws;
- serious restrictions on internet freedom;
- significant interference with freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including restrictions on
- civil society organizations, human rights defenders and other individuals critical of the government;
- restrictions on freedom of movement;
- expelling refugees to a country where they would face torture or persecution;
- inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections;
- and others
