Human rights impact assessment of the Covid-19 response in Uzbekistan

A new briefing paper prepared by International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) examines the human rights impact of Uzbekistan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Soon after the first cases of COVID-19 were r/egistered in Uzbekistan in March 2020, the government introduced restrictive measures amounting to a lockdown but stopped short of declaring a state of emergency. In May, the authorities introduced a colour-coded system of zones, which was in effect until October, and reflected the degree to which an area of the country was affected by the pandemic. Each colour was associated with different sets of measures. The pandemic and measures to contain it have severely affected Uzbekistan; the economy has suffered and hundreds of thousands of people have seen their socio-economic situation worsen. It has also highlighted the underlying weaknesses of the Uzbekistani healthcare system – medical officials sounded the alarm as early as in July when some 8000 cases had been registered, warning that the healthcare system was reaching full capacity and since then the number of cases has increased significantly.

  

Freedom of expression in Uzbekistan, already tightly controlled before the pandemic, has come under even more pressure as the authorities have cracked down on independent, non-official information relating to this public health crisis, arguing that it might cause panic amongst the population as well as on those voicing criticisms about the government’s COVID-19 policy. Medical doctors who have questioned the COVID-19 response have faced pressure and, in at least one case, criminal prosecution.

  

Civil society sources have disputed the official COVID-19 statistics and compiled and shared lists on social media of cases of deaths which are likely associated with the virus; these numbers significantly exceed the official statistics.

  

Legislation introduced earlier this year penalising the dissemination of false information about infectious diseases with up to three years’ imprisonment has made people even more cautious about exercising their right to freedom of expression.

  

As in other countries, prisoners and detainees in Uzbekistan are at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. However, the authorities have not published any information about measures taken to protect this category of people from the virus, and reports by prisoners and their relatives indicate that the measures taken have been far from sufficient. No efforts have been made to review pre-trial detention cases to determine whether it was possible to apply non-custodial measures of restraint to all but the most serious offenders. Some measures have been taken to ensure access to justice in the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, such as allowing submission of complaints to courts online. The right to have access to justice has nevertheless been severely affected by the restrictive measures in place.

  

Restrictions on the in areas of the country categorised as red and yellow zones have severely limited detainees’ and prisoners’ access to lawyers. In many cases lawyers were not able to see their clients in detention, even when the latter alleged having been subjected to torture or ill-treatment.

     

Several local civil society groups report an increase in domestic violence in Uzbekistan during the COVID-19 pandemic and the state-imposed lockdown. The five shelters which remained open during the initial lockdown had to turn away victims for lack of capacity.

      

Compared to other groups of Uzbekistani society, LGBTQI+ individuals – already vulnerable due to the criminalization of consensual same-sex relations between men and widespread homophobia – have faced an increased risk of homelessness and poverty during the pandemic, and of being subjected to extortion and blackmail.

     

Read the briefing paper in pdf

Uzbekistan ordered to “beat off attacks by international human rights organizations...

On 10 December 2020, Abu-Ali Niyazmatov, the administrator of Uyat.uz, a social group on Facebook, posted about custom-made laudatory publications in the European media. I would like to comment on this practice.

The image of the government of Shavkat Mirziyoyev began to concern his team as soon as he came to power. This is due to his desire to divert attention from the fact that he became president in violation of the current Constitution of Uzbekistan, hence the urgent need to create an information legend about the reformer, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. And when he got a press secretary who began to be active on social networks on every occasion, it became clear that the Uzbek authorities decided to launch a global campaign of political lobbying, using modern information technologies, the Internet and the practice of leading PR companies.

The rest proceeded along the lines of the classics of this genre: Shavkat Mirziyoyev created an online reception, which received millions of appeals from naive citizens, new local media outlets were opened, new journalists and bloggers loyal to the authorities emerged - they began to write often about the humanitarian aid of the oligarchs, the charitable works of the first lady and the eldest daughter of the president, creating for them the images of good "Santa Claus" and "Snow Maidens". Against the backdrop of such informational hurray campaign, thousands of dramas began to flare up due to the demolition of houses and bankruptcy of entrepreneurs, but at first the authorities generally preferred to keep silent about these.

The statements of the press service of the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs helping to evade responsibility of those involved in torture and extrajudicial executions against prisoners and other victims of human rights violations are particularly cynical.

Meanwhile, the reality is that there are still no conditions in Uzbekistan for transparency in fulfilling obligations within the framework of protection against torture and corruption; the process of legalising the human rights activities of independent human rights defenders, those who cannot be bought off with an apartment or a position in power, has not yet begun. And at the time when there are no conditions for independent monitoring of human rights observance during the period of isolation associated with COVD-19, Uzbekistan is suddenly taken out of the bottom rungs of international ratings - allegedly for improving the human rights regime, which raises questions.

Is this accidental? Most likely no. Our organisation is in possession of documents that directly show the payment for the services of lobbyists, whose tasks include attracting famous US congressmen, experts, journalists, and creating new websites. This PR campaign is being carried out by a government-controlled team of a new structure, whose official status is an NGO, but it performs pro-state tasks. Not long-ago Lola Karimova used to work using the same scheme, and Gulnara Karimova used it even earlier. And we plan to write about this in more detail very soon.

Nadejda Atayeva

Uzbekistan: stop punishing homosexuality and respect the human rights of all

The NGOs jointly issuing this statement urge the Uzbekistani authorities to live up to their international human rights obligations by decriminalizing homosexuality. Article 120 of the current Criminal Code punishes consensual sexual relations between adult men by up to three years’ imprisonment. Uzbekistan is currently drafting a new Criminal Code and should take this opportunity to improve its human rights record and remove legislation that punishes individuals for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental human rights.       

“When I remember the things that happened to me my heart stops beating.” — A former prisoner recalls his time in detention.

       

We call on the Uzbekistani government to repeal legislation that punishes consensual sexual relations between adult men and that is used to repress individuals‘ freedom, personal security and privacy and persecute them for peaceful exercise of human rights including the right to life. The authorities should also combat existing stigma and discrimination of LGBTI persons by actively increasing public awareness about human rights.

  

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Uzbekistan has committed itself to ensure that everybody can exercise their rights without distinction of any kind, “such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.“ In their concluding observations issued in January and May 2020, both the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee called on Uzbekistan to repeal Article 120.

  

“When I found out that my son is gay, I was thrown into a blind panic. I dragged him to imams, and to psychologists to try to “heal“ him. But all I did was hurt him and spoil his life. Now I understand that homosexuality is not an illness. He is still the same handsome, clever and peaceful person. He simply happens to love people of his own sex, that’s all! But because of this, many want to kill him, burn him, stone him. As long as Article 120 exists my son and other LGBT people will not be able to live quietly and be happy. I believe that revoking Article 120 will only lead to good – for everyone.”

   

— Mother of a young gay man calling on her fellow citizens not to be afraid of people with same-sex relations.

   

A young man who in recent years was imprisoned under Article 120 and has since been released, reports that he does not know how to live with the trauma of having been beaten and treated with hatred and contempt each day. In pre-trial detention he was regularly subjected to violence by other detainees while the guards looked the other way. He recalled that the days spent in pre-trial detention “were the most awful and disgusting in my life” and that officers beat and attempted to rape him with a truncheon when he first arrived at the prison colony.

  

Article 120 poses a constant threat to gay and bisexual men in their daily lives and makes it impossible for them to lodge complaints with the authorities about violence and discrimination to which they are subjected, for fear of revealing their sexual orientation. Groups defending the human rights of LGBTI persons are unable to operate safely in Uzbekistan and the authorities suppress all attempts to draw attention to human rights violations affecting LGBTI persons.

    

A gay man from Uzbekistan said on condition of anonymity: “Article 120 gives people the right to abuse and discriminate with impunity against persons with a non-traditional sexual orientation or gender identity. It also provides the ideal breeding ground for corruption. As long as this article exists, we will have to live in fear and homophobes will have power over us.”

    

Police do not press charges against all the gay and bisexual men whom they track down, but often threaten to imprison them or disclose their sexual orientation to their families for blackmail and financial extortion purposes. Police also coerce LGBTI people to collaborate with them to identify wealthier   gay and bisexual men. In this way many LGBTI persons in Uzbekistan feel they have no option but to lead double lives – they stand to pay a steep price if their wives, husbands, parents, other relatives or neighbours learn about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    

Homophobic mobs frequently target LGBTI individuals and those perceived to be gay, subjecting them to physical abuse and extortion. On internet-based messaging services homophobic activists disseminate the names and contact details of gay and bisexual men and those perceived to be gay and call for them to be “punished” and killed. Videos of such beatings have been disseminated and there are credible reports that several gay men have been murdered or severely injured by homophobic mobs in recent years.

  

Police are also known to exploit the fear of being labelled as “gay” (an accusation perceived as extremely shameful in Uzbekistani society) by extending the threat of imprisonment under Article 120 beyond gay and bisexual, to heterosexual and pious Muslim men. The NGOs jointly issuing this statement are aware of several cases in recent years when police forced individuals to hand over large sums of money or property or to “confess” to serious crimes including “terrorism” or “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order”, to avoid being charged with Article 120.

    

Human rights violations including sexual violence against gay and bisexual men and those perceived to be gay, are particularly egregious in penitentiary institutions. These men are frequently victims of torture and other forms of ill-treatment inflicted by police officers, National Security Service officers, prison guards and fellow inmates. Torture methods include rape with bottles and truncheons, attaching heavy water bottles to the detainee’s genitals, wrapping newspaper around the genitals and setting the paper on fire. Gay and bisexual prisoners and those suspected or accused of same-sex relations have the lowest status in the informal but strictly imposed prisoner hierarchy. They are regularly used as “slaves” by guards and other inmates and, for example, are forced to clean dirty toilets with their bare hands.

    

The Uzbekistani authorities have on several occasions stated that homosexuality is contrary to Islam and the country’s traditional values and cultural norms, and that the public is not ready to repeal Article 120. However, governments cannot use religion, tradition and culture as an excuse to circumvent their human rights obligations. Muslim majority countries that have legalized homosexuality include Uzbekistan’s neighbours Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as Azerbaijan and

    

For further information about the human rights situation of LGBTI persons in Uzbekistan, refer to:

• Legislative Analysis related to LGBT rights and HIV in Uzbekistan, Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ЕCОМ), 2019.
• Joint NGO submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee ahead of the consideration of Uzbekistan’s Fifth Periodic Report at the 128th session in March 2020, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), February 2020.
• Uzbekistan: Submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture, 68th Session, 11 November-6 December 2019, Amnesty International, AHRCA, IPHR.
• LGBTI+ in the region of Central Asia: repressions, discrimination, exclusion, May 2020, ADC Memorial, Кyrgyz Indigo, Human & Art, Team, IG OAT Kurtuluş, with the support of IG Safe Space, Trans*Coalition in the Post-Soviet Spaces torture Uzbekistan.

 

Download the statement in English, Russian and Uzbek languages.