WRITTEN QUESTION E-1685/99

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 September 1999)

Subject: Human rights situation in Uzbekistan

Has the Commission recently made any representations in Tashkent on account of the deteriorating human rights situation there?

What is the fate of human rights activists such as Mrs Kasimova and Mr Adilov of the Adilov human rights organisation?

What position will the EU adopt on the subject of Uzbekistan at the forthcoming OSCE conference in Vienna from 20 September to 1 October?

What action can the Commission take, inter alia with regard to programmes of cooperation between the EU and Uzbekistan, if the human rights situation there remains so unsatisfactory?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(13 October 1999)

The Union is concerned about the deterioration of human rights in Uzbekistan, and on 8 July and 26 August 1999 the Finnish presidency made representations to the Uzbek authorities.

An area of particular concern is the violent measures taken against Mikhail Ardzinov, chairman of the Independent Human Rights Organisation, and other Uzbek citizens who work to defend these rights.

The Commission has been paying particular attention to the general deterioration of human rights in Uzbekistan since the explosions in Tashkent in February 1999. The Commission and the Union are actively following the law-suits which have been brought since then. The Finnish presidency has drawn the Uzbek government's attention in particular to the violation of human rights during the trial of Mohammed and Rashid Bekzhon and four of their co-defendants.

The Commission has studied closely the report of Ambassador Wilhelm Höynck, the personal representative of the Chairman in Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). On 9 September 1999, it took an active part in the OCSC Permanent Council meeting on Central Asia where the report was presented, stressing that respect for human rights is an essential element of Community action.

At the first Cooperation Council meeting with Uzbekistan in Brussels on 13 September 1999, EU representatives drew the Uzbek delegation's attention once again to the human rights situation and the lack of religious freedom in Uzbekistan. In particular, the Union presidency expressed misgivings about the way in which evidence for the prosecution was presented and the defence was conducted during the recent trials. The Uzbek authorities were also asked to investigate a number of cases where the security services abused political and human rights activists. The Union again expressed concern about imprisonment for political or religious reasons, and about prison conditions in general. The Commission told the Uzbek authorities that the next parliamentary elections should be conducted in accordance with the democratic principles defined in the OSCE framework, that freedom of expression in the media should be guaranteed and that an active participation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was essential. All these principles of cooperation were mentioned in Title VII, Article 68 of the partnership and cooperation agreement, and Uzbekistan must therefore apply them. The Commission also pointed out that the TACIS programme was working with the OSCE and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on democratisation programmes.