Envoy Presses for Justice for Andijan Massacre
(Geneva,
May 13, 2017) – The United Nations high commissioner for human rights called on
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on May 10 and 11, 2017, to turn his
government’s pledges for reform into concrete human rights improvements and
fulfill its obligations under human rights law, eight human rights groups said
today. The rights groups endorsed the high commissioner’s recommendations,
calling on Mirziyoyev to end ongoing abuses and deliver on Uzbekistan’s human
rights commitments in full.
UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein met with the president, government
officials, and representatives of nongovernmental groups in Tashkent and
Samarkand. He urged the government to release political prisoners, cooperate
with UN rights monitors, and work to end systematic torture, among other issues.
He emphasized that the “successful implementation” of human rights reforms
could have a “transformational impact” on Uzbekistan’s future.
“While welcoming President Mirziyoyev’s indicated willingness to engage on Uzbekistan’s
abysmal rights record, the UN high commissioner rightly called on him to turn
positive rhetoric into concrete action,” said Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The burden of proof now lies with the Uzbek government to make good on its
promises for reform.”
The rights groups are the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Civil
Rights Defenders, the Cotton Campaign, Human Rights Watch, International
Partnership for Human Rights, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Reporters Sans Frontières, and
the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights.
Hussein’s visit was the first by a UN high commissioner for human rights to
Uzbekistan. It came on the heels of Tashkent’s recent efforts to step up
engagement with various intergovernmental organizations and financial
institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD).
Hussein acknowledged certain positive developments, such as Mirziyoyev’s newly
adopted Action Strategy, which includes pledges to improve public
administration, strengthen protections for vulnerable segments of the
population, and liberalize the economy, as well as new legislation to
strengthen the independence of the judiciary. But the high commissioner
stressed that “frameworks
and plans are one thing, and results are another.”
“In recent months President Mirziyoyev may have directed the government to pass
laws and regulations that, at face value, carry great potential,” said Brigitte
Dufour, director of International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR). “But the
proof of change is when we start seeing all wrongfully imprisoned activists
released from prison, UN human rights monitors and human rights organizations
able to visit the country, an end to forced labor, and independent civil
society and media able to function without harassment.”
In his remarks, the high commissioner urged authorities to allow a strong,
vibrant, and dynamic civil society and media to operate without fear of
repression or reprisal, and to release political prisoners as soon as possible.
The rights groups have documented the imprisonment of thousands of people on
politically motivated charges in Uzbekistan, including dozens of human rights
defenders, journalists, and political activists.
He cited torture as “one of the issues that has been most damaging to
Uzbekistan’s international reputation.” And he said the government should allow
independent monitoring of Uzbekistan’s prisons and other places of detention with
the aim of eradicating torture and other forms of ill-treatment and urged it to
ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. The protocol creates
a monitoring system and requires that independent entities responsible for such
monitoring be able to enter detention facilities at any time, unannounced. In 2013,
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) halted its monitoring of
Uzbekistan’s prison facilities, citing interference by authorities.
“The high commissioner’s visit brings hope for positive change,” said Ivar
Dale, senior adviser at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, “but will only have
lasting significance for Uzbekistan’s 32 million citizens if President
Mirziyoyev opens the country to the credible scrutiny of rights activists,
journalists, and international monitors who have been unable to do their
critical work for so many years.”
Hussein also recommended that Uzbekistan cooperate with UN human rights bodies,
noting that none of the 14 human rights monitors who have asked to visit the
country had been allowed to visit since 2002. The high commissioner announced that
an invitation has been extended to the UN special rapporteur on the freedom of religion
or belief.
The visit came just before the anniversary of the May 13, 2005, Andijan
massacre, when government forces shot and killed hundreds of largely unarmed
protesters in the city of Andijan. In his public remarks, he underlined the
importance of ensuring justice and accountability for the “terrible events” in
Andijan that day. “While it is important to look forward, it is also important
to come to terms with past events and ensure that victims are not forgotten and
their grievances are addressed,” he said.
Before dawn on May 13, 2005, armed men broke into the prison in Andijan, a city
in the Fergana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan. The gunmen freed 23 local
businessmen who had been sentenced for “religious extremism” and took over
local government buildings. Throughout the day, thousands of unarmed peaceful
protesters flocked to the town’s central square to speak out against poverty,
unemployment, and government repression. Government forces in armored vehicles
and snipers fired indiscriminately on the crowd, blocking off the square as
people attempted to flee, killing hundreds. Government troops then moved
through the square and executed wounded people where they lay.
“There is no statute of limitations for the mass killings of hundreds of
innocent civilians 12 years ago in Andijan,” said Nadejda Atayeva, president of
the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia. “We fully support the high commissioner’s
call that the Uzbek government ensure accountability for these terrible events,
which should include a review of the criminal sentences of the hundreds
imprisoned in the aftermath of the massacre, an end to harassment of witnesses
to the killings, and access for human rights organizations to investigate.”
